| James and Carolyn Gregones of Westland did everything right. Their first pregnancy was happy, healthy and on schedule until Carolyn developed preeclampsia at just 26 weeks into her pregnancy. From that point on, the remaining weeks of her pregnancy would prove to be a challenge.
Originally due on June 10, their daughter Kathleen “Katie” Marie was born on April 15, 2003, weighing only 2 pounds, 15 ounces. Carolyn was only able to stay at the hospital for two days following the birth of her daughter. However, Katie remained in the Providence Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for the next month.
Thanks to the medical advances and research funded by the March of Dimes, Katie was able to come home in May weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces. Since this time, she has steadily gained weight and met every benchmark goal for her age.
In 2003, the March of Dimes launched a five-year, $75 million national campaign to educate women to the signs and symptoms of preterm labor, raise funds to conduct needed research and reduce the rate of premature birth by 15 percent by 2007.
The Gregones family recognizes the significant role the March of Dimes has played to save premature babies like Katie and are committed to raising money for the March of Dimes largest event, WalkAmerica. This year, Katie and her family will celebrate her first birthday in front of thousands of participants that have raised funds to support the March of Dimes efforts and help save the lives of babies like her.
WalkAmerica is a six-mile walk to save babies and will take place rain or shine at Wayne County’s Hines Park at Nankin Mills on Saturday, April 24. Proceeds raised by WalkAmerica help the March of Dimes save babies through programs of research, community service, advocacy and education.
National WalkAmerica sponsors are Cigna, Discovery Health Channel, Famous Footwear and Kmart. Comcast is a statewide sponsor of WalkAmerica in Michigan. Local sponsors include WJR, WDVD, WDRQ, Pepsi and The Detroit Free Press.
The statewide honorary chair for Michigan’s WalkAmerica is UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. Honorary chair for the Hines Park location is Wayne County Executive and March of Dimes Easter Division Board Chairman Robert Ficano.
Those interested in participating in WalkAmerica with the Gregones family and the above leaders can register by calling 1-800-BIG-WALK or visiting www.walkamerica.org.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education and advocacy to save babies. More information is available on the March of Dimes websites at www.marchofdimes.com and www.nacersano.org.
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