Madison Lucero was born at almost three months early in 2005. She weighed 1 pound 14 ounces and was 11 inches long. She was crying, breathing on her own and things were looking good, but she was taken to the NICU due to her size.
   The first day was good. She was doing well with just a little oxygen to help her breath. The second night was not so good. She developed an infection and had to be put on a ventilator.
   She weighed four pounds when she went home three weeks before her original due date, tethered to an oxygen bottle and apnea monitor.
   Dad Matt researched March of Dimes after Madison was born and discovered that March of Dimes funded research that led to the development of surfactant therapy which has reduced the number of babies who die from Respiratory Distress Syndrome from 10,000 per year to fewer than 1,000. Madison had received surfactant therapy and without it, Matt believes, she would not be here today.
  Matt has worked for FedEx, a national March of Dimes sponsor, for 12 years. He said he was never one to get involved; never raised a dime before Madison was born. He thanks God that others did. Now, he runs a golf tournament, poker tournament and softball tournament to benefit March of Dimes.

Allison Daniel writes:

My life has been amazing with Kelly Ilene. Although we went through a rough spots before she was born. I started bleeding at 18 weeks and was told that I was having a miscarriage. A sonogram showed that there was still a heartbeat and the baby was fine.
However, there was a large mass on the placenta, later diagnosed as a blood clot which had caused the placenta to tear away from the uterine wall.
We had many other challenges during the next several months. At 31 weeks, things took a turn for the worse and my beautiful baby was born by emergency Cesarean.
Kelly is a complete joy and such a blessing. She will be four in June 2010. She is energetic, smart, enjoys books, arts and crafts, has a love for animals, and believes she is actually a princess! 
I believe that the research and developments funded by March of Dimes saved my daughter’s life.
Doctors have told me that I have a high risk for problems during future pregnancies because of my condition with Kelly. So for that reason, we strive to help fund the research that saves babies lives. One day, all babies will be born healthy.

“The March of Dimes is committed to ensuring a healthy birth for every baby.” said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes.  “Premature birth continues as the number one health problem for newborns. Babies who survive often suffer from serious, lifelong complications.  We're proud to have the Aboulhouda family represent the March of Dimes nationally in an effort to help more babies be born healthy.”