Traci Hornfeck

Raegan is 18 year's old…yes an ADULT!!!! When we found out we were pregnant, we weren’t sure if Raegan would survive or what her future would look like and here she is with <1% chance of survival graduating from college. 2025 has been a year full of adventure and unexpected twists and turns.  Raegan is headed to the University of Kentucky to the Lewis Honors College to study accounting.  You read that right folks…and there was zero persuasion from her parents…I guess it's just in the blood ;)!   Life moves fast, and we feel incredibly grateful for the healthy, strong, and smart young woman she’s become. When I look back, it feels like yesterday that Raegan was our 3.5lb NICU baby and now she is a wonderful, strong, smart and beautiful young lady!  However, we always remember where the journey began as I sit here and rewrite our story on Raegan's 18th birthday.   Matt and I were new parents, our whole world had changed with the immense love we felt for our child, our child that we weren't sure we were ever going to bring home or if we did bring her home there was that dark cloud of wondering of what her quality of life would be like. On December 19th, 2007, at 19 weeks, my water broke. Ten days later, we received a diagnosis. Doctors suggested inducing labor, but Raegan had other plans—just like her mom. Despite the risks, Raegan fought through, and we stayed in the hospital until she was born on March 19th. I spent the winter on bed rest, drinking over 300 ounces of water a day to help her lungs develop. Raegan received two rounds of steroid shots to boost her lung development. Raegan’s name means strength, and she proved it by defying the odds of a less than 1% survival chance. She was born at 32 weeks and 2 days, weighing 3.5 pounds. She spent five weeks in the NICU, impressing doctors every day with her progress. The treatments Raegan received, including nitric oxide therapies, surfactant shots, and the high jet ventilator, were all made possible by March of Dimes research. We were later blessed with two more beautiful girls, Sydney and Finley (2 more strong-willed girls - please pray for us as we are in the thick of the teenage years). Thankfully, my pregnancies with them were much less stressful, thanks to the March of Dimes research. I received progesterone shots and ultrasounds to ensure healthy pregnancies. Without the March of Dimes, I am not sure where Raegan would be in her development, but I know with the March of Dimes our weekends are full of horseback riding, heading to the college of her dreams and hanging with her sisters and friends.I know many of you have been with us on this journey from the beginning, and some of you may just be starting. But I hope that you will donate for not only Raegan's sake but all babies and moms to have an equal chance at a healthy start.