Our Story:

I thought maybe it would help to know why we are supporting the March of Dimes, and how their efforts played a role in Jack and Sean's first weeks of life.

Jack and Sean were born Oct. 3, 2005 at 32 wks (8 wks early) by Emergency C-Section.  Jack weighed 3lbs. 7oz. and Sean was 3lbs. 14oz. That very first day was the most important and is where the March of Dimes played the biggest role in our lives.

The boys were born with RDS (Respiratory Distress Syndrome).  They received Lung Surfactant Therapy and were put on Ventilators to help them breathe.  Jack and Sean were removed from the Vents in a day!  The March of Dimes, through their research funding, gave our babies their biggest boost in life.  Had they not received Lung Surfactant Therapy there is no telling how long they would have been on those Vents.  A nurse in the NICU told us before they had Surfactant there was a high rate of blindness in preemies from being on Vents and Oxygen for long periods of time and some babies would have never even had a chance.  I'm glad I'll never have to know what would have been with out the Surfactant!

The Boys were in the NICU for 22 DAYS.  The first week or so was the hardest for me.  I felt helpless!  I couldn't just pick them up when I wanted to and hug them.  They had so many tubes, wires and they were SO tiny!  Leaving was practically unbearable!  I cried the whole way home and every day thereafter.  It never was any easier!  So, one day I was reading through some paperwork they had given me at the hospital and started reading about the March of Dimes.  I went to their Share Web-site and started reading stories of other parents going through the same thing.  It was theraputic for me and gave me ideas of what I could do to help my babies rather than me dwelling on what I couldn't do! 

The March of Dimes also support NICU's too!  I'm sure all of you have heard us say a million times how great the NICU was to us and our boys.  Please Join us in supporting the March of Dimes so other babies are afforded the chance in life we are so grateful that our boys have. 

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1980s and 1990s—Surfactant Therapy. The March of Dimes has a long history of funding research on newborn lung development and has invested over  $12.5 million in researchers studying this important issue. One of the most important breakthroughs in this field was the work of T. Allen Merritt, MD, at the University of California San Diego Medical Center. His research showing the effectiveness of surfactant therapy for premature babies with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) helped convince the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve surfactant therapy to prevent and treat RDS. Surfactant is a detergent-like substance produced in the lungs that aids in breathing. Since surfactant therapy became widespread, infant deaths due to RDS have dropped by over two-thirds. The March of Dimes continues to support research to develop new and more effective surfactant therapies.