MARCH FOR BABIES: A MOTHER OF A MOVEMENT™
Syracuse March for Babies
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Onondaga Lake Park
4585 West Seneca Turnpike , Syracuse, NY 13215
Date: Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:00 AM
4585 West Seneca Turnpike , Syracuse, NY 13215
Date: Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:00 AM
Our ambassador
The Owen Family
The Owen Family
My husband and I were so excited to be expecting twin girls in January of 2016. Unfortunately at just 26 weeks, one of the twin’s membranes ruptured prematurely in the middle of the night. When I arrive at the hospital, I was stared on medications to help prepare the fetus’s lungs for preterm birth, antibiotics to prevent infection, indomethacin to stop preterm labor and magnesium to help prevent some problems that can affect the babies’ brains. The goal was to keep me on bed rest at the hospital for the duration of the pregnancy, with the hope that the babies could continue to develop in utero. But, just 15 hours later, everything changed and the girls were delievered via emergency C-section, 14 weeks early. Emerson weighed 1 pound 15 ounces and Camryn weighed 2 pounds 3 ounces. And so our NICU journey began. Their survival percentage was about 80%. To many, these number sound like statistics. But to us, they mean so much more! The girls were both placed on ventilators, given medications, and were very closely monitored. You learn new terms in the NICU…apnea, PICC line, desats, isolette, and bradycardia. You are surrounded by alarms and monitors and you feel completely helpless. I couldn’t hold my babies for 8 and 12 days. And when you do, you are overjoyed and terrified all at the same time as they tape their tubes to you and arrange their wires and lines. Each day I prayed that they are stable enough to do kangaroo care. Those moments kept me going when I wanted to fall apart. But, I was in awe of my tiny girls fighting to survive with every breath that they took. You hold on to hope like you’ve never held on before.
Our little angels are a success story. We are forever grateful to all that have had a hand in this. First, by the Grace of God, he gave the girls the strength and will to keep fighting. To all of the nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists and supports staff at the NICU. Those who started out as strangers and are now what we consider to be, our extended family. And of course, the March of Dimes and their life saving research and support functions.
After 73 days were were able to bring Emmy home. And on day 83 Camryn followed. Today the girls are vibrant, energetic, happy 2 ½ year olds! We are thankful to the March of Dimes for the many life saving treatments the girls received that were made possible by the research funded by the foundation. Our goal is to help raise awareness in our local area that the March of Dimes doesn’t just save babies born too soon or born with birth defects, they help fund research and equipment that hospitals use on the healthiest babies. We hope that we can bring enthusiasm to the CNY events and increase the support to the March of Dimes.
NATIONAL PARTNERS
Thank you to our local sponsors