34 years ago

Almost 34 years ago a pregnant mother was rushed to the hospital 5 weeks before her due date and then rushed to an emergency c-section.

She was warned that her son would probably always need extra help. Special classes. She was told not to get her hopes up.

Since then, her son has received two bachelor degrees. One in physics and one in engineering. The only special classes he ever needed were those for the gifted students.

He's managed to earn 4 US patents for his work on engines. A black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Not only that, but he also managed to find himself a pretty awesome wife. And have two healthy boys.



Thank goodness that there exists a group that provides comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care.

Imagine

The fear is always there. I think it just comes with parenting.
But the fear of losing your child - always with me.

Both of my babies were born at full-term. Healthy baby boys. Yet, that fear, the fear of your baby becoming so sick their life ends too soon, is always with me.

For me, this seems to be an irrational fear. But for some, it's reality.

Imagine needing over 20 ultrasounds during your pregnancy.

Imagine being put on strict bed-rest just 15 weeks into your pregnancy.

Imagine setting a goal of making it to 30 weeks of your pregnancy (10 weeks early).

Imagine going in for a routine check up, only to find you are in labor and you need to deliver your baby 5 weeks early.

Imagine checking out of the hospital and having to say goodbye to your baby, who will be spending the next few days, weeks, or months in the NICU.

Now imagine a group whose mission is to support research offering preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with birth defects.

Imagine a group that educates women on things they can do to increase their chances of having a healthy baby.

Imagine a group that strives to provide comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care.

Imagine a group that pushes for newborn screening and health insurance for all pregnant women and children.

Now, imagine me walking just over 6 miles to support this group and imagine yourself supporting me in my efforts to raise funds.

Stop imagining - I will be walking and am asking you to please support me in my walk for the March of Dimes.

Miracles

Soon, I will be sharing a story of how Grandma was saved by a very new procedure that is used after a stroke.

Seven years ago my nephew was born a few weeks early. He had to spend about a week in the NICU. He was the tiniest baby I've ever seen - weighing just over or under five pounds. My memory of this is fading. I do remember my sister-in-law used to have to undress him to wake him up every three hours to be sure he kept eating on schedule. Now, he's in first grade and amazes me every time I see him.

A few years ago at work a fellow teacher and I were amazed that a girl in her class weighed only 1 pound at birth. One pound, people! That is amazing.

Tuesday morning I met a little girl, Evelyn, who at four months old had just doubled her birth weight and weighed *almost* 10 pounds! She was tiny. She was adorable! And her parents were in awe of her abilities.

Almost 17 months ago a little girl was born. The pregnancy was complicated, the delivery an emergency c-section, and the outlook was dim. Maddie survived. She lived! Her parents celebrated her milestones, enjoyed her company, and documented it all. Sadly, on Tuesday, Maddie passed away.

Life is full of miracles.

And today there are countless posts written about Maddie, people offering donations and services to Maddie's family, and walking in her honor.

A few months ago I was upset with myself for not walking for a charity event in 2008. It was one of my resolutions, but I couldn't decide what charity to walk for, after having done the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. What was I waiting for?

Since February I've been sitting on a post card from the March of Dimes. I even went over to the website a few times to check things out, but never did anything. What was I waiting for?

I suppose I needed a good kick in the butt to get things going. I've decided to walk in Naperville, on April 26th, in memory of Maddie and in honor of all those children I've met, at an older age, that I just couldn't believe they were born "too early".

If you'd like to make a donation go here. If you'd like to join me and walk with me, please join my team. I'd love to have some sort of post-walk celebration.