Marilyn Faralli

Over twenty years ago, my child Jae was born prematurely. Jae was born 11 weeks early and weighed only 2 lbs. 7 oz. Jae stayed in the hospital for 7 weeks. It was a roller coaster ride of emotions that I would not wish on anyone, even though I know that we were the lucky ones. Some of Jae's bunkmates in the NICU did not have as good of a ride as Jae did. But it was the unpredictability of that ride, the ups and downs that not only made us realize that life is a true gift, but that this journey would leave our family forever changed. Jae was and still is a fighter and a huge inspiration. I knew by the way Jae, only a day old, kicked off the hospital anklet (Jae's calf was the size of my index finger) that Jae was going to rule the world one day. Today, Jae is a happy, healthy young adult who loves nature and all living things. Creative and kind, Jae also has an amazing sense of humor. I am so proud of the person my kid has become. I am so proud to be Jae's Mom.

I truly believe that love, prayers, medical advances, the doctors and nurses in the NICU (our angels on earth), and organizations like the March of Dimes got us through some tough times. I can’t thank our friends and family enough for the love, prayers, and support in the first years and their continued love and support. We are so grateful for your continued support every year for a cause that means so much to us. We walk to honor Jae, but we also walk for all babies and their families. We walk so that babies are born healthy, happy and not at risk. We walk so families don’t go through what we went through.

We walk to celebrate Jae and Jae's sister Ava. We walk to honor all the babies and children we know, have known and the ones we don’t know. We walk for the little fighters in the NICU. We walk for the former preemies, some who have made it through the rain, some who are still fighting the storm. We walk for all future babies. We walk for all the little angels taken too soon.

Peace, love, thanks, and healthy babies,

Marilyn