Last year I had this idea of doing this fun event called
to raise money for the March of Dimes.
Bands=awesome music
Along with the help of a TON of wonderful
people, we had a great event with music, a cornhole tournament, concessions and
RAIN.
Well rain is somewhat of an understatement...
What we had was a good old fashioned Alleghany County, VA
monsoon.
Right in the middle of the event that we had
planned
and poured our hearts into for months.
But guess what?
People stuck around and we piled under every canopy we could find
and
through runny mascara,
drenched hair and laughter,
we carried on until after the storm passed.
It was a
fantastic event that raised $1500 for March of Dimes
and hopefully raised
awareness
of the incredibly positive research funded by March of Dimes.
Let’s take a quiz.
1. March of Dimes was founded by whom?
a) Teddy Roosevelt
b) Dwight D.
Eisenhower
c) Franklin D.
Roosevelt
d) John F. Kennedy
Give yourself a round of applause if you chose C.
The correct answer is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
FDR’s personal struggle with polio led him to create the
National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis at a time when polio was on the
rise. Better known as the March of Dimes, the foundation established a polio
patient aid program and funded research for vaccines developed by Jonas Salk,
MD and Albert Sabin, MD. These vaccines effectively ended epidemic polio in the
United States.
2. What is the
March of Dimes mission today?
a) To prevent polio
b) To march with as many dimes in your pockets
as you can
c) To improve the
health of babies by preventing birth defects,
infant mortality, and premature
birth.
d) To administer the
flu vaccination to toddlers
Welp? What’s the
answer?
Of course it is C.
The mission of the March of Dimes today is to
improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, infant mortality, and
premature birth.
Why does any of that matter?
Well of course we know why birth defects and infant mortality is bad,
but why is premature birth so bad?
And what
exactly IS premature/preterm birth anyway?
Preterm birth is defined as the birth of a baby of
less than
37 weeks gestational age.
A normal
pregnancy is 40 weeks.
Each of those
precious weeks in utero gives the baby
a better shot at making it in the world
with the fewest possible complications.
Premature and preterm are sometimes used interchangeably,
but premature birth is specifically the birth of a baby before the developing
organs are mature enough to allow normal postnatal survival. Premature infants
are at greater risk for short and long term complications, including
disabilities and impediments in growth and mental development.
Take a look at this article from the Center for Disease
Control, paying particular attention to the chart on the page.
You will see that birth defects and prematurity account for
more infant deaths than all the other causes totaled.
Why do I support March of Dimes?
Well, besides all of these reasons that I just presented,
I
have a reason much closer to my heart.
Deana and I have been best friends since the 5th grade.
We have been through so many things together.
From this...
To this...
To this...
To infinity & beyond...
She knows that I sleep with my glasses on
and I know what her hair looks like in the morning.
In the fall of 2004, I called Deana in
tears. I had taken a pregnancy test and
I was pregnant! I was pregnant with my
third child. That wasn’t the plan. I was going to have two children. That was it.
I was so ready to put the baby world behind me and move on to the next
phase. Deana and her husband Shannon
came down to my house and we sat out on the back porch and I cried and
complained and was ungrateful for this beautiful miracle that was growing
inside of me. I was being a complete ungrateful
brat. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was.
Oh I had it all justified in my
head why I could act that way…
What I had forgotten, while wallowing in my own self-pity, is that Deana and Shannon had been
trying for a quite some time to get pregnant and
they were wishing like crazy that THEY could have a baby.
That baby in my belly was my Wyatt—aka, Papi. I couldn’t imagine that
evening that I could love someone that I thought was such an oopsy so very
much. I couldn’t imagine that life would
work out ok. But it did.
I had a perfect full-term pregnancy with him
and the easiest labor and delivery imaginable.
In the fall of that year, Deana and Shannon got that awesome
news that they had been waiting for…wishing for…hoping for.
They were pregnant!
But wait…it gets better!
They were having TWINS!
They were getting doubly blessed!
A boy and a girl.
Their prayers had been answered.
Right up til the time that Deana went into preterm
labor…
This is Deana’s story in her own words.
Read on…
Chase and Keely Mitchell entered the world at 26 weeks,
March 26th, 2006 weighing in at 1 lb 13 oz and 1 lb 12 oz respectively. Both
were considered micro preemies and were placed on oscillators to regulate their
breathing. They were hooked up to IVs, breathing tubes, and placed in an
incubator. Monitors were hooked up everywhere to make sure their blood
pressure, heart rates, and oxygen rates were remaining stable. Numerous tests
were taken as our babies tried to survive the first few hours and days of life.
Keely Marie had a bad day on day 3, she developed a hole in her lung and they
had to place a rod to keep it from deflating. This hole destabilized the
pressure in her tiny body and caused Stage 4 brain bleeding on the right side
and Stage 3 on the left side. The doctors gave her a grim prognosis and we were
with her when she went to heaven on her 5th day on this earth.
Chase was such a little fighter. He was still on IVs for
food, on the vent or cpap for oxygen and his PDA wasn't closing on its own. He
had a stage 3 brain bleed that continued to evolve. Two weeks after Chase was
born, he had to undergo a PDA ligation. This meant returning to the vent for
breathing and opening him twice to get to his little heart and close up the
hole. He did remarkably well and was alert right after surgery. He made it
quickly back to the Cpap and stayed on that for a while. He had to be fed
through a feeding tube which ran through his nose. He dealt with apnea all the
time, especially after eating. He was in the hospital for a total of 80 days
and went home on oxygen, caffeine, and had developed reflux when he ate.
He was a fairly normal 1 year old. He was still under the
charts for growth and had about a 3 month gap for motor skills. We fed him
protein drinks to fatten him up. Due to the reflux, he didn't keep many meals
down.
At SEVEN years old he is over the growth charts. Chase loves
to play football and baseball and loves 1st grade! His development is on track
as of now, but we still may have to contend with development or learning
issues.
Without the research and scientific programs funded by the
March of Dimes, Chase may not have survived. I thank God and the doctors,
nurses, nurse practitioners, and the March of Dimes for my miracle baby, Chase.
Incredible story, huh?
Deana gave you all of the MEDICAL facts in her story.
She didn’t tell you about the way she had to
meticulously monitor visitors, keep Chase away from as many potentially harmful
germs (which meant practically keeping him in a bubble during flu season for
quite some time.) She didn’t tell you
how his reflux required her to always travel with a bucket because the sweet
pea couldn’t keep anything down. She
didn’t tell you how preparing for two angels and only bringing home one broke
her heart in a way that will never, ever be whole again. She didn’t mention how no parent should ever
have to endure fighting with every exhausted ounce of your being for one tiny baby while
making funeral arrangements for his twin sister.
She didn’t mention the tears or the screams
of WHY or the way that sometimes she felt like just breathing was the hardest
thing in the world to do.
Deana doesn't talk very candidly about those things because they are still so very painful.
Why do I support March of Dimes?
I support the March of Dimes because
I have had these
conversations with my best friend.
I
know her heart and I know how she aches for her Keely.
Who would she have looked like? What would her voice have sounded like?
Would she be a tomboy or a prissy
princess?
All the what-ifs that will
never be answered.
I support the March of Dimes, because when I look at Chase, it still amazes me.
He wouldn’t be here today without the research funded by the March of
Dimes.
Chase and his sister Izzy at a March of Dimes event!
I support the March of Dimes to honor Chase and to remember
Keely.
I support March of Dimes with the hope that the research funded by this incredible
organization will keep somebody’s best friend or sister or daughter from EVER having to endure such a
painful loss and a trying journey.
Will you join me in supporting March of Dimes?
I know money is tight for everybody these days.
I'm right there with you.
What about a dime a day?
You can do a dime a day, right?
Get yourself a mason jar, a sandwich baggy...anything.
Today is April 4. Put 1 dime in it every day from now until September 4.
You will have $15.
And come out and listen to some great music
and play
cornhole at the 2nd Annual Bands and Bags for Babies on June 22 at
the Wiley Pavilion!
And get your friends and family together
and walk with us
on Sep. 21! Bring your $15 that you saved!
Can I count on you?
UPDATE: 3rd Annual Bands & Bags for Babies to be
held at Wiley Pavilion June 14, 2014!
See you there!
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