Marching for Lillie....

As you all know, Jay and I spent a long time trying to have a baby. We went through every medical & scientific procedure available and eventually through the miracle of adoption, our beautiful Kate was born. I think every baby is a miracle and should never be considered anything else, the word "accident" when it refers to a pregnancy makes my blood boil! God gives you no greater gift than a child to love and I assure you, it's no accident. Unfortunately 1 out of every 8 babies born are born too soon. We were very fortunate with Kate that she was not born premature. Her birth mother did not have prenatal care. She may have been to the doctor one or two times but that was it. It is by God's Grace alone that she was born healthy and we will never stop thanking Him for that.
Not long after Kate was born, my sister announced her pregnancy. Of course we were all thrilled. I remember like it was yesterday the day my nephew was born more than 14 years ago - i remember instantly falling in love with him. So the news of a new niece or nephew to love was very exciting, it was even a contributing factor in our decision to move back to OKC. My sister, so smart and so beautiful had a very uneventful pregnancy in the beginning. She took such great care of herself, never missed an appointment, ate very healthy and even took some prenatal yoga classes. Towards the end of her pregnancy her blood pressure began to rise. She went on bedrest. In her 36th week of pregnancy, she called me to say she was concerned that she hadn't felt her daughter move. We were already out and about so we took her a coke to her house and sat on her bed with her waiting for the baby to "wake up.' I remember Kate sitting on her Aunt Bootsy's bed touching her tummy and telling the baby to wake up! My sister finally decided to call her doctor and go to L&D. They put her on a fetal monitor and we heard the heartbeat right away. I think we all let out a huge sigh of relief. What an amazing sound. The nurses didn't seem as happy as we all did. They decided to keep my sister for observation overnight. Turns out that although there was a heartbeat, it was flat. You want to hear and see spikes and dips, hers remained a near constant 150. I ended up taking her son home while my sister and her husband stayed at the hospital. I was home just long enough to fix dinner and get everyone to bed. Near midnight, i got a call from my sister. They were doing an emergency c-section, now. I was confused and scared and worried. This just didn't seem possible. I prayed and knew everything would be ok. She was almost 37 weeks. I woke up her son and we made the trip across town to the hospital. I didn't get to see her before surgery, i just paced outside.
My wait wasn't long. I saw a team of doctors and nurses pushing a baby and i said, is that baby Henry?? Henry being my sister's last name. Yes, they said, you have 5 seconds, she's under 3lbs. Three lbs?? THREE POUNDS??? That can NOT be right! She is practically full term, she didn't have a three pound baby and 5 seconds, why, what was wrong, i didn't understand. When i saw my niece for the first time i remember thinking she was beautiful, prettiest, sweetest face i had seen but she was tiny. Her head was the smaller than my fist and she didn't have an ounce of fat on her. I know most of you won't believe this but I can be a bit ummmm, pushy. I went to the nurses station and demanded to know what happened. They could only give me the baby's weight, 2 lbs, 15oz. I told them that was impossible my sister was nearly 37 weeks pregnant, they corrected me, apparently she was 36.2 weeks pregnant. Ok, i stand corrected! My niece Lillie Marie was transferred immediately to the NICU. We couldn't see her. My sister couldn't see her. We couldn't hold her. My heart was breaking. I can't imagine how my sister felt especially when she was discharged days later will Lillie remained in the hospital. We aren't sure what happened to Lillie Marie that caused her to be born early and so small. There was a problem with the placenta, she had literally been starving in utero, which explained the lack of fat on her and her droopy skin. My sister was immediately given support by our local Chapter of the March of Dimes. March of Dimes is an organization dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality. Their research helped my niece grow stronger. The doctors were able to care for her and help her grow while supporting my sister and her family thanks to the March of Dimes.
Lillie was released from the hospital after spending nearly a month in the NICU. She has continued to flourish with no lasting side effects.
In January of this year, she turned 2 years old - she is as smart as she is beautiful. She and Kate are the best of friends! Since Lillie's birth I have been a volunteer for the March of Dimes. I have participated in many of their events but this year, my sister and I are doing something new, we have a walk team for March for Babies! Our team name? Lil Hen and her Peeps, marching in honor of Lillie Henry, of course, thanks to MoD's research, she will be marching right along side of us! March for Babies is the largest fundraiser for the March of Dimes. I have committed myself to raising $500 while our team hopes to raise $3,000. Would you please consider sponsoring me in this fight to give EVERY baby a Healthy Start! It is so easy to do, there is a "widget" on the side of my blog you can click on it and make your donation. Anything helps - donations of even $10 or $20 goes a long ways! Of course, i realize that times are tough and you may not be able to, please know I understand that as well. If you would like to read more about Lillie's journey, visit my sister's blog at http://littlehen2008.blogspot.com