March for Babies 2010!

Today my family and friends headed out to our first March of Dimes walk. The weather was amazing and we had a wonderful time. I was excited to actually meet several babies of blogs I follow. It was even more exciting to see so many people coming together to fight prematurity! Everyone has their own story, but we all share the same hope. The hope that one day all babies will be born healthy.

Grey Grey's shirt says "Walk for Me 1 lb 10 oz"

Grey and I with Kim Meeks and Mary Farris. Kim also had HELLP syndrome and delivered Mary Farris at 25 weeks. She weighed 1 pound 3 ounces.

Prayers for the Nelson Family...

Dear Friends & Family -

I recently learned that a friend from college needs some serious prayers. Patrick Nelson & Amanda Nelson need prayers for their precious son, Jon Beckett Nelson. Beckett is 6 mos old and sustained serious injuries on April 5th 2010. It is reported that his babysitter put him down on her bed (not in a crib) and he somehow got his head lodged between the mattress and head board. "Jon Beckett was taken initially to StoneCrest Medical Center where he received heroic life-sustaining medical care for severe head trauma, and has remained in critical care at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital since that time,"

Please pray for Patrick, Amanda and Beckett! We need another miracle.

Here is a picture of precious Beckett... taken from the facebook group "praying for jon beckett nelson"




A fund has been set-up at Suntrust bank for the Nelson family. The parents have been sitting by their son's bedside for 2 weeks now and we all know how fast medical bills accumulate.

My thoughts continue to be with the Nelson family... I am physically sick to hear these horrible news. Please say a prayer and hold your babies a little closer tonight.

a day at the park

We took Greyson to the park on Saturday. The weather was beautiful; Matthew and I were eager to get him on a swing! I was a little reluctant once I saw the swing and immediately imagined him some how falling through one the leg holes… keep in mind he weighs less than 16 pound. However, he seemed to fit somewhat securely - so we began his first swinging experience. I think he really enjoyed the ride. There were lots of smiles and laughs.

Seriously checking out his other swing mates :)

HELP ME FIGHT PREMATURITY

So it is time that I step up my fundraising for the March of Dimes Walk! I only have 14 days now to raise money for this awesome foundation.

So, why is the March of Dimes so important? Well, one good reason is surfactant. Without getting all scientific I will try to explain surfactant’s purpose in simple terms. Surfactant helps the tiny air sacs in the lungs to stay open. After birth, Grey’s lungs were so underdeveloped that his tiny air sacs would collapse- causing respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). His lungs would not open when he breathed in air.

After birth Grey received a dose of synthetic surfactant and then 3 days later he received another “rescue dose.” So, who was smart enough to develop artificial surfactant? In the 1980s, therapy using artificial surfactant was developed by March of Dimes grantee T. Allen Merritt, M.D., of the UC San Diego Medical Center. Since then, the number of babies who die from RDS has gone from 10,000 per year to fewer than 1,000. March of Dimes!!



When Grey was born, his lungs were in the bottom left development stage. He lacked alveoli (air sacs) to keep his lungs open. So he had the branches but he was lacking some very important leaves. These little leaves develop in the third trimester. The tiny air sacs that Grey had developed were able to stay open b/c of the surfactant he received.

So, our baby was able to grow from this...




To a healthy one year old...



Thank you March of Dimes for your outstanding research!

Just Texting From the Crib