Ashlie Wilhelm

Dear Friends & Family: As you may already know, my family and I hold a special place in our hearts for the March of Dimes organization. Our twins, Alex and John, were born at just 22 and 23 weeks in 2011. Even after the loss of our daughter, Alex, our son, John spent four months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City. This experience allowed for us to learn how the March of Dimes provides to families during their time of need, as well as the hospitals that save so many. While our family went home to mourn the loss of our daughter, I had to hold onto every ounce of faith that I had and muster the emotional, spiritual and physical strength I could to stay in Mercy's Ante-partum unit for another nine days, after being blind-sided with unexpectedly going into labor and losing one of our twins. I asked for peace every single day, in hopes that the second twin, John, could have a chance. No one believed our story - to show up pregnant with two, lose one in a matter of hours, reverse dilation and remain pregnant with the other for another week and a half. That extra time allowed God to work a miracle and when I went into early labor again, I was rushed for emergency c-section. Baby John was born at 23 weeks 2 days and made it, at only a pound and a half. God is AMAZING. The loss of one and the miracle of the other...our family had been through more emotions in two weeks than most experience in a lifetime. We will never forget our daughter, Alex Rae. Five years later, my sister-in-law found herself having an unexpected and traumatic emergency c-section with my niece, baby Ella. She went in 4 weeks early feeling flu-like symptoms, had major complications and baby Ella was born not breathing. The lack of oxygen to her brain caused further dangerous complications and the baby was mediflighted to OU Children’s NICU for 10 days. After what seemed to be little to no chance for her to make it, the NICU utilized a special and limited piece of equipment called a Cooling Cap to cool down the swelling on baby Ella’s brain. With a miraculous turnaround and recovery in less than 2 weeks, my brother’s family were able to bring her home! We are ALL very thankful to announce that John is now a very healthy, happy thirteen year-old boy, while his cousin Ella is an extremely healthy and beautiful six -year-old! May our stories give hope, encouragement and strength to other families who may be going through a similar time in their lives.  Last year the Wilspec employees, families and friends raised over $10,000. Help John, Ella, Greyden and Team Wilspec March for Babies again in 2025 by walking, donating or both!  Join us in person at Scissortail Park in Downtown OKC to see firsthand what your support is doing to change lives on Saturday, May 17th at 9AM. The Walk is back in person this year and there will be many fun ways to enjoy our team, meet our families and cheer on so many Oklahomans touched by these issues. Wilspec will once again be sponsoring the Remember Tent and your support means so much! Right now, babies need all the help they can get. Premature birth affects about 500,000 babies here in the United States. I’m walking in March for Babies to get the message out about this terrible problem and you can help. Please make a secure donation to help me reach my goal. Together we can help the March of Dimes fight prematurity so more babies can get the strongest start possible. Thank you so very much for your love and support this year! Together we are making a huge difference in the lives of Oklahomans and our nation! Join our team, donate or both at  www.MarchforBabies.org/Wilspec Thank you so much!! Ashlie and Larry