After trying to get pregnant and suffering
two miscarriages, we were elated to make it to the “safe” part of
our pregnancy. At 20
weeks, we found out we were having a healthy, little girl and began announcing
to the world that we would be having a baby on May 31, 2009. Three weeks later, I was placed on complete bed rest, upside down doing everything humanly possible to keep
my baby put.
On February 13, 2009, despite everyone’s best efforts,
Callie entered the world. She was born
limp and didn’t cry. She weighed only 1 pound 5 ounces. They held her up to us for an instant before rushing her to the NICU. An hour later, they came and got us, saying
that they wanted to give us a chance to see her alive and didn’t think that she
would make it until morning. Devastated, we went to her side and told her how much we loved her and how
proud of her we were and asked her to fight. 
Fight she did. Callie spent the
next three months in three different NICUs. She had four surgeries -- all before coming
home. We were told her chances of ever
walking or living a normal life was slim because of the severity of her brain
bleed. Our little fighter showed the
world statistics didn’t matter.
Now a healthy 4-year-old, Callie continues to exceed everyone’s expectation -- keeping up
with the other kids in preschool, swimming and gymnastics. The March of Dimes means hope. It means hope that one day all babies can be born healthy. Hope that these innocent babies will not have to struggle as hard to meet milestones. Hope that mother’s won’t have to watch their babies struggle for life. It is hope for the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment