MARCH FOR BABIES: A MOTHER OF A MOVEMENT™
Dubuque
https://www.google.com/maps/embed/v1/place?key=YOUR_API_KEY
&q=Fairmont+Empress,Victoria+BC
&attribution_source=Google+Maps+Embed+API
&attribution_web_url=http://www.fairmont.com/empress-victoria/
&attribution_ios_deep_link_id=comgooglemaps://?daddr=Fairmont+Empress,+Victoria,+BC
Crown Cork & Seal and Bergfeld Pond
E. Commercial St. , Dubuque, IA 52001
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2015 9:00 AM
E. Commercial St. , Dubuque, IA 52001
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2015 9:00 AM
Our ambassador
Meet the Blum Family
Meet the Blum Family
In 2011, we were overwhelmed and with joy to learn that we were expecting again– not just one baby but TWO! Our identical twin girls were due to arrive in May. However, at our 20 week appointment it was discovered that they were suffering from Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. Otherwise known as TTTS, it is a rare disease that affects 15-20% of all identical pregnancies that share a placenta. The doctors at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics felt that our case was serious enough for an immediate intervention, and the next day we were on our way to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for appointments and meetings. We learned that without surgical intervention there was an extremely small, if any, chance that either of the girls would survive the pregnancy. The tests confirmed that the TTTS was causing stress on the babies’ hearts, blood pressure, brain development and amniotic fluid levels. We decided to go ahead with surgery to reduce some of the amniotic fluid levels and sever some of the shared blood vessels. We knew that we had made the best decision possible, but there was only a 70% chance that both of our babies would survive.
After the surgery, Amber remained in Cincinnati for a week of recovery and monitoring, and then returned home to Dubuque on strict bed rest and weekly monitoring in Iowa City. At 25 weeks the doctors discovered that the girls were in danger again, and she was immediately hospitalized for the duration of the pregnancy. On March 29, 2012, at 31 weeks gestation, the girls were delivered via emergency c-section. Aliyah weighed 3 lbs, 4 oz and Alyssa quickly followed at 2 lbs, 14 oz. They were whisked away to the NICU for observation and care. They would remain there for the next 30 days before being transferred to Mercy Dubuque for another 20 days. Those 50 days were some of the longest days of our lives, as they battled respiratory distress, feeding issues, and intestinal complications.
Alyssa and Aliyah are now almost three years old, and doing beautifully. They are meeting many of their milestones, and developing beautifully. We are incredibly grateful to the March of Dimes for all their research on fetal surgeries, complicated pregnancies, and fetal steroids. Without their work, our story would have had a very different ending.
We are excited to be serving as the 2015 Dubuque 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. Please join us to walk together for stronger, healthier babies. Watch more of our story on Facebook- at March of Dimes Iowa Chapter page.
Tony, Amber, Peyton, Mallory, Aliyah, Alyssa
NATIONAL PARTNERS
Thank you to our local sponsors