Dad dances on TikTok for son being treated in NICU
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ORLANDO, FL (WESH ) — When a baby is born premature, the long nights and days in the hospital are agonizing, and often the parents are living moment to moment.
One local family is experiencing this for the third time.
The father has decided to dance the stress away and is sharing his moves on social media.
Chris Askew has decided to post videos of himself dancing on the TikTok app, for his baby Dylan while he is in the NICU.
“I did it, just a silly thing, just to see. And I woke up the next morning and I had 500,000 views on it,” Askew said.
Askew is dancing for his fourth son, Dylan, who was born in mid-January, two months premature, only weighing four pounds. He is in the fight for his life.
“Unless you’ve been through it, you can’t put into words how hard it is,” Askew said.
Askew is a Seminole County firefighter, and a self-admitted addict of TikTok, which is a social media app.
Askew decided to post a video of himself dancing every day on TikTok until his baby boy is strong enough to get out of the neo-natal intensive care unit at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies.
Askew shot his first video in the laundry room at the Ronald McDonald House, his second with his wife, Danielle, and baby Dylan in the hospital, and he continued to post more videos – one with the nurses in the NICU unit, one with his fellow firefighters, one with UCF’s mascot, one with the Orlando Magic dancers, and the list goes on.
The outpouring of love for baby Dylan is growing. Askew is sharing his story, and other people have also come forward to share their stories.
Baby Dylan is doing well and hopes to get out of the NICU in three weeks.
As of Monday, Askew’s videos have reached 4 million people with his “daddy dance.”
Check back with WESH 2 News for updates on baby Dylan’s progress.
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