Southern Baby Steps for March of Dimes

Hi, I'm Liza & my two year old is a survivor of premature birth. She was born two years ago at 25 weeks gestation due to severe preeclampsia & HELLP syndrome. My daughter, Anne-Marie, weighed 14.8 oz and was only 10 inches long when delivered. Her lungs were so weak and she was very sick for a long time. I will forever be grateful to the March of Dimes and to the advances in the field of neonatal medicine. Anne-Marie had several surgeries and treatments during her 200 day NICU stay. Allowing her to participate in medical studies for research and raising money each year for the March of Dimes is my way of giving back. Below are other stories (and pics) just like Anne-Marie's. We are all walking together in April.

We are K.B. & Joe Wilkerson, parents of one ambitiously feisty preemie. Bailey Wilkerson was born prematurely at 27 weeks gestation. I woke up Friday morning, May 13,2011 exhausted! I had just had my 6th month visit on Wednesday and seemed to be progressing well with no complications. I assumed the exhaustion was due to the progression of the pregnancy. While I was eating breakfast this particular morning, I experienced a sharp stabbing pain in my stomach, which I thought was very odd. As I began getting ready for work the abdominal cramps began, which were coming every 6 minutes. I called the on call OBGYN at our local hospital, who recommended I go to the ER immediately. Fearing that I would be told it was Braxton Hicks contractions, I chose to wait until the physician office opened at 9am. I was taken back immediately. The physician discovered I was 7cm dilated. I was rushed to the hospital with orders to be shipped immediately to the nearest hospital with an available NICU. However, once at the hospital it was determined I was too high risk to transport due to the possibility of delivering while in route. The physician was able to slow my labor with hopes that he would be able to hold me off for a couple of days. However, Bailey was born by emergency C-section on Saturday morning May 14,2011 @2:49am weighing 2lbs 9oz, 14 inches long. She was quickly rushed to the nursery for assessment and VA Baptist Hospital NICU team in Lynchburg, VA was dispatched. Bailey was transported by Neonatal Ambulance to VA Baptist NICU accompanied by an amazing NICU nurse, Wendy, and respiratory therapist. My husband, Joe Wilkerson, left for Virginia Baptist to be with Bailey upon arrival. Joe was quickly educated about the instability of preemies, by another one of our favorite nurses, Cornelia. I was discharged 2 days later from our local hospital and quickly made my way to be with Bailey. During her NICU stay Bailey began losing weight, regurgitating her feeds via NG tube, and dropped to 2lb 1oz. She was the size of a Dt.Coke can. She eventually stabilized with the excellent care of our NICU staff and was discharged 2 months later from the NICU a whooping 4lbs 11oz. She continued with chronic GI issues following her discharge, which we’re hopefully finally resolving. She is currently a caring, independent, head strong, 5 year old kindergartener who is excellent at handling her big sister roll to her baby sister Talley.

I defied the odds being born at 29 weeks weighing in at almost 2lbs 4 oz. I am a fiesty little girls with a beautiful smile. My mommy and daddy named me Natalie Grace because I came into this world by the grace of God. Though it was not an easy road, we made it through all of the ups and downs of the NICU. We had support from the wonderful and caring nurses, doctors, and other parents. After 63 days in the Duke NICU, I finally came home weighing 4 lbs 9 oz.

Mommy and Daddy had many tough exhausting days. Leaving the hospital without your child was the most difficult thing we ever had to do. Driving one and a half hours one way to the hospital every day was physically and mentally draining. Not to mention taking care of another child at home. We asked ourselves how we would get through this. Many prayers were sent up along with lots of love form our family, friends, and church. Prayers were answered and our little girl came home safe and sound. Always have faith...Tell someone you love them...today, not tomorrow!
--Katina Epps, mom to Natalie

I am Josie's mom and here is her story.

I had my pregnancy all planned out perfectly for a teacher. I was due June 26, 2005. Little did I know, Josie had very different plans. I began experiencing preterm labor symptoms on April 20, 2005. Unfortunately, my preterm labor symptoms were not recognized by my doctors. I was put on bed rest at home after being checked at the hospital. I insisted that something was wrong, but was sent home. Later that night, on April 22, 2005, my water broke. After a very difficult labor and delivery, my 3 pound 12 ounce 30 weeker was born. Yes, she was huge for a 30 weeker. Thank goodness because her fight was just beginning. The hospital resuscitation warmer wasn't working. The pediatrician had to rush her down the hall in his arms.

Our local hospital doesn't have a NICU, so the NICU team arrived shortly to transport her to a hospital an hour away. They told us she was very sick and brought her in for us to say our good-byes. She was too sick for me to even touch. As they pushed my baby out of that room, I thought it would be last time I would ever see her. All I had left was a Polaroid picture of my critically ill newborn. 5 hours after giving birth, I left the hospital.

My husband, mom, and I went straight to to the hospital where she was transferred. Within minutes of arriving the doctors called my mom, my husband, and me into a small room to give us an update on Josie. At this point, I still hadn’t even touched her. They began to tell me a nightmare…she had bleeding on the brain, her lungs were not performing well, she had a blood incompatibility and would most likely need a blood transfusion. She was a very sick baby. They went on to say if she made it she would be blind, in a wheel chair, deaf…completely handicapped. I felt as if I was sitting on the outside of my body listening in and wanted to escape my hurt, but mostly my fear. The hospital gave me a hospitality room to stay in. Our rollercoaster ride was just beginning.

On May 13, 2005 they were doing a brain scan on Josie to see if her brain bleed had been reabsorbed by the body. When we went into that small room once more to look at her scans we were given terrible news. She had had a grade IV bleed. This type of bleed completely handicaps children. They were going to transfer her to another hospital that could handle her neurological needs the next morning. She had Hydrocephalus and needed a shunt. The air left the room and I was overcome with fear.

We ended up at the Ronald McDonald House the next day. Thank goodness for their love.

She has surgery on May 16, 2005 to insert a VP shunt to treat her Hydrocephalus. Her surgery lasted about 4 hours and when her doctor came out to report her surgery was a success, I think I breathed for the first time in four weeks. Once we were allowed to see her, the nurse told us they had to remove the breathing tube because she was fighting to breathe on her own. She and the nurse practitioner told us they had never seen anything like it. The nurse told us, “She must have a lot of prayers going up for her because she is beating all of the odds!” On May 18, 2005 our tiny 4 pound baby was released to go home and I would be at home for the first time in 4 weeks. The fear of bringing a baby home 2 days after brain surgery with heart monitors was overwhelming, but with the help of the Lord and my parents we got through it. We had our share of ups and downs over the first couple of months, but it didn’t take long to realize Josie was doing remarkably well; better than anyone would have expected. On her first check-up visit at UVA, they were amazed.

12 years later, Josie still has the original shunt. She is an honor student and amazes us all daily. She is in all Honors classes, except math. She does have some difficulties with math. However with minor accommodations in math, she is soaring in 6th grade. She has beat so many odds.

I've watched several of the other moms here travel this NICU and premie roller coaster. I've cried for them, prayed for them, reached out to them, and hurt for them. Once you have a premie, your life is forever changed. There is nothing like living in a small town with support from those that have traveled the same journey.
--Tabitha Cash, mom to Josie

Having a child born premature can happen to anyone. You may have a friend or family member who has given birth to a child born too soon. My rainbow baby, Marco was born 16 weeks and 1 day early (23 weeks and 6 days gestation) in 2010. He spent over three months and ½ months in the NICU. My youngest miracle, Alexander was born 18 weeks early (22 weeks gestation), although one of his neonatologists thought he was a few days earlier than this based on his skin and health. He spent almost 4 months in the NICU before coming home. I was thrown into a world where your child is hooked up to ventilators, wires attached to your child’s fragile body, constant beeping of alarms, an overwhelming smell of hand sanitizer, IVs in my little boys’ heads, PICC lines, and bilirubin lights are all images forever embedded in my mind. The survival rates for both boys were very low. Marco was given a 17% chance and little Alexander was given less than 1% basically no chance of survival. I was told a baby born that early just doesn’t make it. Having to watch your children fight for their lives every single day changes a person. You learn to relish every milestone no matter how big or small. Most things people take for granted are HUGE in the preemie mom world! The NICU journey was a long battle that seems to never end. The surgery battle scars on Marco’s and Alex’s bodies remind me of how far they have come and how strong they are! One of the biggest fears I always had was that of a late night phone call. A phone call saying my boys are not going to make it through the night and we needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. There were some pretty close calls for Alexander in the NICU for instance he developed a hole in his intestines and contracted a very serious deadly prognosis of NEC basically his intestines were injured or dying off, and leaking stool and bile into his blood stream and abdomen, which caused him to become septic. He had to be transported to another hospital on Thanksgiving Day of 2014 on top of that he suffered from acute renal failure. I am the proud mommy of a fighter and a conqueror. Both have serious health issues, some that will last a lifetime like Hydrocephalus, Cerebral Palsy, and Renal issues, but it just makes them even more of a miracle to their parents. “Seeing a Miracle will Inspire You but Knowing a Miracle will Change You!” Until you have a premature baby of your own, you will never fully understand the great distance between one pane of glass. I had to wait over a month to hold each of my boys, and it was only for very brief intervals. You feel cheated and miss out on some of the most precious moments parents of full term babies are allowed to experience. That pane of glass keeps you from cuddling and loving on the one person who needs you most! Our lives are filled with numerous follow up appointments to specialist but our life is wonderful because we have two of the greatest blessings anyone could ask for, our miracle babies. Marco is now six and still developmentally delayed but has surpassed doctors' expectations. Alex is now two years old and because of his tremendous fight the parents Academy of Pediatrics have decided to give parents the option to resuscitate babies born at 22 weeks gestation!
--Alicia Barriga, Mom to MJ and Alex

As many of you already know our son Peyton was anxious to see the world. At 29 weeks I was admitted to the hospital for preterm labor. After a three night stay and great efforts by the amazing nurses and doctors at Duke University hospital Peyton would stay put for 4 more weeks. Four weeks later at 33 weeks unexpectedly my water broke at home, we spent 3 nights in the hospital trying to prolong the arrival of our anxious baby boy, but on October 9th 2014 ready or not our 5lb 14oz son Peyton was born. We were excited, scared, nervous all these emotions bundled in one as we were unsure of what was the birth plan for a premature baby would consist of. Once Peyton was born we were unable to hold him as he had an express ticket to the NICU were he would spend the first night of his life. The next morning Peyton was moved to the special care nursery which we would call home for the next three weeks. We will forever be grateful for the nurses, doctors, and fellow moms we meet during Peyton's stay. Please join me and our team to help fight premature birth.
--Meredith Elliott, mom to Peyton


Pictures Below:
Anne-Marie at 3 weeks old, the first time her Daddy, Bradley, got to Kangaroo!
Bailey in the NICU & Bailey now!
Natalie in the NICU & with her Daddy!
Josie in the NICU & now!
MJ & Alex Barriga in the NICU and now!
Peyton in the hospital and now!