People often say that the best day of their life was the day their child was born. For me, and many parents of preemie children, the day my daughter, Alana Grace was born was the WORST day of my life. Seeing her pale, limp, little body....we were terrified.

What we didn′t realize at the time was how much the March of Dimes had to do with her healthy recovery from a dangerous premature birth.

Allie was born 6 weeks early. At delivery, she was not breathing and did not have a heartbeat. After several minutes of nail-biting CPR, baby Allie was stable enough to be rushed to the NICU.

She weighed less than 4 pounds. I didn′t get to see her for 24 hours. When that finally happened, I got to hold her for the first time. I burst into tears. But as much as they were tears of joy….they were also tears of fear. Fear of what would happen next.

During Allie's stay in the NICU she received countless doses of antibiotics, drugs to make her lungs stronger, a blood transfusion, and more.

The happiest day of my life was the day I got to bring my beautiful Allie home from the hospital. She is now 3 years old. Everyday she learns more. Everyday she surprises us. Her father and I cannot stop talking about how much we love her. She has grown into a beautiful child. None of this would be possible without the important research done by the March of Dimes.

It is our hope that one day…no mother will hold her baby for the first time shaking with fear that she won′t see her again….no father will bring his wife home from the hospital while his little girl lays in an incubator at a hospital miles and miles away. It is our hope that one day, all babies will be born healthy.

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