To say Nora is fighter is an understatement. She started her fight at conception. I had fertility issues that would not allow me to get pregnant naturally. But after years preparing my body for pregnancy with fertility tests, surgeries, and medicines, we were finally able to complete our one and only round of IVF. The IVF procedure cost more than my car, so we had one shot financially. She was the one and only embryo to make it & to start the IVF transfer. When I got the call that I had a positive pregnancy blood test, I was thrilled & relieved. The next few months of pregnancy were happy & sleepy. I was so excited to experience growing this tiny human & to get to meet her. At 21 weeks pregnant, I went to the ER for placenta previa. If I went into labor at this time, there were no life saving measures that would be done for her. The baby was fine. The placenta previa resolved itself & I was able to go home. At 23 weeks the placenta previa landed me back in the hospital for a whole week. After the doctors did everything they could to stop the bleeding, they decided we couldn’t wait any longer. I was at risk & it was getting to the point that the baby could go into distress at any time. She was born on February 23rd, 2022, weighing 1lb 13oz and 13 inches long. She was only 24 weeks gestation at that time. That was the scariest day of my life. I just wanted my baby to be ok. She came out crying, but couldn’t successfully breath on her own. She was intubated & put on oxygen support. She was so tiny. I was freshly recovering from the c-section and couldn’t get out of bed yet. My husband sent me a picture of his wedding ring compared to the size of her foot & his ring was bigger. She was as tall as an elf on the shelf. Her micro-preemie diapers were smaller than a sticky note, she had wires, lights, monitors & a hat with a bow bigger than she was. She was perfect. A little tiny human, smaller than I had ever seen before. As I looked closely, I could see how her leg muscles looked like mine. I could see how her & her sister had the same perfectly pointy chin that came from their dad. She had tiny feet, tiny hands, & red-ish underdeveloped skin that we couldn’t touch yet. She was so fragile. I couldn’t hold her for weeks; I couldn’t give her the first bath or change her diaper. I had to sit back helplessly & pray that these complete strangers would take care of my tiny little miracle. I quickly realized that these complete strangers, were caring for not only Nora, but for me too. Her nurses were absolutely amazing. They sent me pictures when I wasn’t there, they text me updates, got a camera set up so I could monitor her, they allowed me to help with her care & saved special moments when they needed a 2nd pair of hands for times when I was there. They helped educate me, answer my questions, and took any concerns I had very seriously. When I say they loved Nora and cared for her- I truly mean it. They were angels & did everything to make sure our NICU experience was the best possible experience. I am so truly thankful for them. Her nurses would arrange the most thoughtful celebrations. Nora had a “Pool Party” for the 4th of July, she had a 100-day celebration, 200-day celebration, and a 300-day celebration. She had Halloween photo shoot and a candy photo shoot in the fall. She had her own “closet” which was a cabinet they cleaned out for me. I would bring clothes and her nurses would pick an outfit because she had so many to choose from. She also had a bow holder attached to the end of her crib that held all her bows. When the doctors/staff/nurses made their daily rounds, it was one of their highlights to see what Nora was wearing that day or how big her bow was! They all commented on how cute she was each day. The fun parts were the highlights of my day/week. But there was always the looming issues that came with her prematurity. She had a hole in her in her heart, a level 4 brain bleed, needed high levels of respiratory support & a handful of other issues along the way which felt like painful speed bumps holding us back from starting our journey at home. She needed to be able to regulate her own temperature, feed, and breath on her own before she could go home. The hospital still had covid policies in place, so for Nora’s entire NICU stay at Regional One, only her dad & I were allowed to visit. We went to Le Bonheur for a surgery at 6 months old. At that time, she was finally able to meet her big sister & her family. But it was an incredibly difficult experience to be a new parent with a medically fragile child and spending 9.5 months next to a hospital bed making the most important decisions for your child’s life & wellbeing alone. She spent all of her 1st holidays in the hospital from February till December. Then on December 12th, she was finally discharged. We were so thrilled to take her home. Our days were filled with medical equipment, therapy appointments, doctor appointments, oxygen machines, SPO2 monitors, heart rate monitors, wires, tubing, & all the things Nora needed to still survive- but at least we were home & I could be with her all the time. We quickly transitioned from hospital life to therapy appointment life. We had 2-5 therapies scheduled which have continued until today. She had feeding therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy, behavioral therapy & occupational therapy. She has started pre-K and is loving it! She loves all of her teachers, friends, and the school staff. She has blossomed since she has started school. I am so incredibly proud of her & all she has accomplished. She accomplished everything at her own pace & in her own fashion. She is spunky, kind, empathetic, sweet, loving & I have no doubt she will be amazing and accomplish her goals like none other! I am so proud to have the honor of representing the March of Dimes, Memphis March for Babies as the 2026 Ambassador Family! Nora’s story & journey has touched so many. It is truly an honor to help fundraise for an amazing organization helping babies & their families navigate through difficult circumstances.