MARCH FOR BABIES: A MOTHER OF A MOVEMENT™
Quad Cities
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Mississippi Valley Fair Grounds
1 Rock Island Arsenal , Rock Island, IL 61201
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2017 9:00 AM
1 Rock Island Arsenal , Rock Island, IL 61201
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2017 9:00 AM
Our ambassador
The King Family
The King Family
In 2016, we were overwhelmed with joy to learn that we were expecting a baby girl. Our oldest daughter Adalyn couldn’t wait to become a big sister! While a subchorionic hemorrhage caused some complications, everything was going along smoothly until 26 weeks gestation. The day of Addy’s birthday party I wasn’t feeling well, and headed to the hospital without realizing that I was in labor. My water broke while I was there, but fortunately I stabilized enough that the doctors were able to transfer me to the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
Once I was there, I was prepped for an emergency c-section, and our daughter Lillian was born weighing only 1 lb., 9 oz. on June 5, 2016. She was quickly transferred to the UI Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and placed into their Bay 1 area– the area of the NICU that is reserved for the most critical infants. The first day in the NICU she was given the name “Tiger Lilly” because she was such a fighter. Lilly’s journey in the NICU was certainly like being on a rollercoaster, full of up and down days. She had a PDA ligation done after medication didn’t help it close on its own, and she was also diagnosed with chronic lung disease. One night after her breathing was off, an echo was performed and they found that she had severe pulmonary hypertension. The right side of her heart was enlarged from working so hard, and they ordered a cath procedure on September 6. During this 7 hour surgery, they were able to balloon 4 of the 5 veins, and were hopeful that this would help Lilly. She was diagnosed with PVS- a progressive and serious condition of the heart where the narrowing of the pulmonary veins deprived the heart of essential oxygen.
Lilly had some good days that followed, and there was even talk of her receiving a tracheotomy and a g-tube to help her heal and grow. But her lungs just couldn’t support her breathing needs, as one completely collapsed and the other was mostly collapsed. The doctors tried one more heart cath procedure on October 14, and they placed 3 stents in, and ballooned the other two veins. Unfortunately, her body just wasn’t as strong as her soul, and our Lilly passed away on October 16, 2016 at 4 and a half months old.
We are proud to be serving as the 2017 Quad Cities March for Babies Ambassador Family, and to be giving back to a foundation that has given us so much. Sharing our story will help bring awareness to the importance of the March of Dimes and their mission, while also raising essential funds to support their life-saving research.
Christy, Jason, Adalyn and *Lillian* King
NATIONAL PARTNERS
Thank you to our local sponsors