ONE DAY - all babies will be born healthy. We need to walk to get there!
We are walking again this year with our Family and Friends on April 30th for all babies!!! As many of you know, our daughter, Rylee Grace was born 3 months too early. She weighed 1.1 pounds/11 inches and spent 3 months at the North Carolina Children's Hospital NICU. During her stay Rylee received many transfusions, fluids and medicines through an umbillical line. She was fed through a feeding tube until about a week before we brought her home . Rylee was born breathing on her own which was remarkable given her size and gestation age, however it was stressful on her so she was intubated. Amazingly, she was extubated that very same day! To help with her lung development I received the standard full dosing of steriods before giving birth. After birth Rylee received Surfactant therapy which the March of Dimes developed. This therapy has decreased deaths of babies from respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) from 10,000 per year to fewer than 1,000. We are so thankful they were able to provide research and a successful therapy to help babies everywhere! I've provided a link to the March of Dimes which explains this therapy in more detail. You can find the link in the right column under the purple gadget with the picture of Rylee.
With the help of the March of Dimes and the North Carolina Children's Hospital NICU, Rylee beat the odds. We are walking to help give back!
March for Babies is just that - we are walking for all babies! We are very excited to be a part of March for Babies. The March of Dimes champions the needs of moms and babies in our community and across the nation. The money we raise for March for Babies will support lifesaving research, services, education and advocacy that help babies get a healthy start. Please help by donating today! The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.
Our goal was $1000 last year and because of all off you, our family and friends, we not only met our goal but we exceeded that amount by raising over $2600! I am hoping you will be able to support our efforts again this year, regardless of the amount. Its easy to support such a worthy cause and help us meet our goal. If you are interested in supporting the efforts of the March of Dimes please click on the purple gadget in the left column or at the bottom of the page (both have a picture of Rylee on them). That will take you to our March for Babies homepage and from there you can contribute.
Thank you all so very much for your support!
Kim, Pat, Emily, Rylee
Rylee 2010/2011