Leila Manning

My son’s name, Liam, means “Strong Willed Warrior” and he lives up to that every day. He started life as a “micropreemie” and has grown into a hilarious, intelligent, and creative 13 year old! My twin sons, Liam and Ewan, were born at 24 weeks on Christmas Day, 2010. They were 16 weeks premature. Liam survived a 27 minute resuscitation at birth. The boys faced many challenges due to their prematurity. They battled each day for their lives - through infections, transfusions, and surgeries. Their days in the NICU were the scariest of my life. Ewan died in my arms at 75 days old, due to an intestinal disease directly related to his prematurity. We contiued to grieve and parent at Liam's NICU bedside. Finally, Liam came home from the NICU after 109 days, three days before his due date. The happiest day of my life! He has been thriving ever since and is, truly, a miracle. Thanks to March of Dimes research, both of my boys benefitted from steroid therapy, prior to their birth, for lung and brain development, They both received surfactant therapy after birth to help their lungs continue to develop. Both boys were on ventilators and received respiratory therapies developed through March Of Dimes research. We often visited the March of Dimes website for more information on the treatments they were getting. We started Team Pirate Power days after Ewan's death, to honor and celebrate both boys. Proudly, raising over $200,000 for the March Of Dimes! Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!