Mission Families
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Families are the heart of the March of Dimes mission. Each year the Connecticut Chapter is pleased to select local families to serve as Mission Ambassador Families to share their story with media, volunteers, sponsors and friends of March of Dimes to raise awareness about the mission to give all babies a healthy start.
Just a few families named in 2009 include:
The Decelles Family of Torrington
Thomas Decelles and Heather Abraham’s son, Jacob, was born 6 weeks premature. He weighed just 5lb. 2 oz and spent nearly two weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at UConn Health Center in Farmington receiving specialized care. Today Jacob is nearly nine months old and is doing well.
“For years I participated in March for Babies as an employee with Webster Bank never knowing I would be personally touched by the mission,” said Heather. “Once I had Jacob and went through being in the NICU with him, and saw all of the other little babies in the NICU, I realized just how important it is to continue raising money for every child that is born too soon, so that we can find ways to prevent it.”
The Gyasi Family of Meriden
Anthony (Tony) and Afua Gyasi’s son, Kwabena (Kobby), was born 12 weeks premature. He weighed a mere 1lb. 7 oz and ultimately spent nearly five months in the neonatal intensive care unit at UConn Health Center in Farmington receiving specialized care. Kobby also received surfactant to help mature his tiny lungs, a therapy funded in part by March of Dimes research. Today Kobby is nearly four years old and continues to make strides. For three years he received nutrition through a “G-tube” but can now eat solid foods. He also suffers from asthma and undergoes therapy for speech and developmental delays.
“Kobby loves music, riding his tricycle, cars and playing with other children,” said Afua. “Our experience has also inspired us to serve as parent-to-parent volunteer support at the NICU at UConn. It’s an opportunity to speak to parents who wish to talk to someone who knows what they are going through.”
The Mucinskas Family of Middletown
Kristen and Adam Mucinskas’ twins, Sarah and Johnathan, were born 15 weeks premature. Sarah weighed a mere 1 lb. 11 oz and ultimately spent nearly four months in the neonatal intensive care unit at Yale-New Haven Hospital receiving specialized care. Sarah also received surfactant to help mature her tiny lungs, a therapy funded in part by March of Dimes research. Sadly, Johnathan was too tiny and had some additional health issues prone to preemies and lost his struggle to live. Today Sarah is two years old and is doing well, although she does have some continuing health issues as a result of her early birth such as chronic lung disease, and retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a condition that affects the eyes and in some cases leads to blindness.
“If we can prevent preterm birth from happening or solve some of the problems of preterm birth, then no parent or child will have to experience the heartache of the preemie’s struggle for life,” said Kristen.
The Taylor Family of Oxford
Lynn and Ronald Taylor’s twins, Victoria and Ronald, Jr., were born 13 weeks premature due to Lynn’s sudden development of high blood pressure. Victoria weighed 1lb. 5.6 oz and Ron weighed 1lb. 4/8 oz. The babies ultimately spent a total of 109 days in two neonatal intensive care units at Danbury Hospital and Hartford Hospital receiving specialized care. Today the twins are four years old, and while both are doing well, they do continue to have health issues related to their early birth. While Victoria can now consume foods orally, she continues to receive a supplement of daily nutrition via a G-tube. Both children are also underweight for their age.
“Although the prognosis for babies born too early is improving as more medical advances are made, it is vitally important, in my opinion, to provide information to women about the warning signs of conditions that might cause a premature birth,” said Lynn. “I will never know if I had detected my high blood pressure earlier, if the twins would have been born later. I did not know the signs of pre-eclampsia. Of course, this is only one condition that could lead to a premature birth. There are a great deal of others. The March of Dimes work in disseminating information as well as researching unknown causes of prematurity is crucial. What a wondrous accomplishment it would be if we were able to provide every child with a full forty weeks in utero and the absolute best possible beginning of a healthy life.”
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View the new Public Service Announcement in support of our Prematurity Campaign.
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