Fiona, now 7 1/2!! (my adorable 1st grader!!) , was a micro-preemie baby, who lost her hearing during her battle against infections while at the NICU. Two more surgeries later (one on her 1st birthday and the 2nd 1 1/2 months afer her 2nd birthday), she has now cochlear implants (CI) in both of her ears. Fiona's verbal progress is remarkable! we get compliments from audiologists all the time! Her main source for verbal knowledge is 'big' brother Sebastian (11 months her senior)!. Whatever he says, she says, wherever he goes, she goes, whatever he does, she does :) Depending on the day she is our little princess, mainly our little pixy (very very mischievous), or our little pumpkin (she was, after all, born in Halloween!). We were finally able to upgrade from her Freedoms to Nucleus5, and woww!! with the N5 she can distinguish some words in some songs, and is now an avid Justin Beiber fan, of course! The N5s are just great, lighter, splash-proof! you should have seen her face the first time she was able to play in the sprinkler with 'her ears' on, and her enjoyment since she has been able to walk in the rain :) - grin from ear to ear. Fiona has recently started gymnastics and loves it! She learnt to read last year in Kindergarten and is doing extremely good in school.

Here is her story:

Fiona was born on October 31, 2004 at almost 26 weeks of gestation (doctors said 25 1/2 to 25 3/4, but I believe I was starting my 26th week the Sunday she was born), at only 1lb 15oz and a bit longer than a pencil (13 in). She was so early that her eyes were still shut. She spent 3 long (long!) months in the NICU, battling many lung infections, and overcoming 3 different surgeries (PAD, ROP, and double hernias). She finally came home (Feb 2, 2005, 3 days before her due date). She lost her hearing due to the many antibiotics that she needed to save her life from the infections.

Up to this day doctors have no apparent reason for her prematurity, since the pregnancy was going great. I went into full labor without notice...none....nada. She was born within the hour of my arrival at the St John's Hospital via emergency C-section (since she was breeched).

There is not a day that we are not reminded of Fiona's extreme early arrival - and as time goes on, the 94 days of NICU trauma slowly fades, but the scars and consequences of that time still linger - and they still hurt.

PLEASE help us help others avoid prematurity!.

The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.