| E-MAIL NEWSLETTER | December, 2004 |  |
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Dear Friend, As one of our friends, we hope we can count on you. Please visit our Web site and make a secure online donation to help give more babies a healthy start in life. In the holiday spirit, you can make a donation in honor or memory of someone special. Even a $5 donation will go a long way in our efforts to fight premature birth and birth defects. We also are pleased to announce that, during December, your donation
will go twice as far - thanks to MedImmune,
Inc. They are matching all online donations through the end
of the year up to $50,000. This means that if you donate $25, the
March of Dimes will receive $50. This month's special Personal Spotlight is taken from our new "share
community" and is a must-read this season. It features the
story of Trinity and her mother Carrie. Because you are part of
the March of Dimes family, we're sharing their story, as well as
the following:
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I hope that you're having a wonderful holiday season. We're all
looking forward to a great 2005. |
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| Dear March of Dimes, |
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My name is Carrie and my boyfriend's
name is Eric. We were excited to find out we were going to have a
baby girl sometime in November. On Aug. 6, I went to the doctor because
I was concerned about a lot of discharge. When I got there, the nurse/midwife
said it sounded like a bladder infection and she was going to do a
pelvic exam just to make sure. That's when the bad news came. She
was calling an ambulance to take me to the hospital. I was barely
25 weeks pregnant and I was 5 centimeters dilated. When I got to the
hospital, there were so many doctors coming in and out of my room
telling me I was in labor. They gave me medication to try and stop
the labor, but it didn't work. They gave me steroid shots to help
mature her lungs and they said if she stayed in for 48 hours after
the shots, she would have a better chance of survival.
On Aug. 8, at 4:45 p.m., Trinity Nichole Winchester was born. She was 1lb., 11.8 oz. and 13 in. long. They took her away so fast I didn't get a chance to see her. A few hours later, Eric and I got to see our baby. She was the tiniest thing we ever saw. She was so beautiful. The doctors and nurses said she was doing great, but I was so scared for her. Less than 24 hours later, they took her off the respirator. She was breathing all on her own. She was very active in the womb, but I couldn't believe how much she wiggled around in her incubator. I guess there wasn't enough room inside me for her to move around so much. Just about a week later, the nurse called me and told me that her lungs collapsed and they had to intubate her again. They said that she just got tired of breathing on her own and it was perfectly normal and it may happen a few times during her stay in the NICU. A few days later she got really sick. The doctor told me that she had an infection, but they weren't sure exactly where. They immediately started antibiotics to try and stop the infection. Her kidneys had stopped working so all the fluids they were giving her made her very bloated. All she had to do was pee. On Aug. 20, I lost my sweet little girl. Her lungs filled up with fluid. My whole world ended that day. I couldn't believe this could happen. My mom told me about this "Share" Web site. I never knew the March of Dimes was for premature babies, but I'm so glad I know now. I got my Trinity a virtual bracelet and it was great to see friends and family had donated in her memory. I hope this foundation can help these tiny little babies and their families so they don't have to suffer such a tragedy. Carrie Make a donation in memory of Trinity. Click here to read responses to Carrie's story. |
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Newborn Screening Tests All states screen newborns for certain metabolic birth defects. (Metabolic refers to chemical changes that take place within living cells.) These conditions cannot be seen in the newborn, but can cause physical problems, mental retardation and, in some cases, death.
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| March of Dimes Selects Logan, Utah, Child as 2005
National Ambassador
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Oct. 12, 2004 – Jamie Anderson was thrilled to learn she was pregnant with twins, but four months later her daughter, Navy, and son, Jackson, arrived 17 weeks too soon. Jackson survived only three-and-a-half hours. Navy, weighing just 1 lb., 6 oz., spent the next 116 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) fighting for her life.
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 The Salk vaccine field trial began on April 26, 1954. To commemorate this historic anniversary, throughout 2004, Miracles has brought you different vintage photographs from the March of Dimes archives taken during the polio vaccine rollout 50 years ago. « Lucille Ball andDesi Arnez helped support the March of Dimes. | |
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Best, Editor Miracles Online March of Dimes |
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This online newsletter is sponsored by the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization. The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Visit marchofdimes.com
to read more. Share your View past issues of Miracles online by visiting the new |
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| HOW YOU CAN HELP | ||
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Support the March of Dimes during December and your donation will go twice as far! Please consider making a secure, tax-deductible online donation today to help save babies! Donate Now |
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 Join others in the fight to defeat premature birth, and help give every baby a healthy start.
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| PREMATURITY CAR MAGNETS | ||
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Display your passion! Buy your 10 pack of "Fight Premature Birth" or "Saving babies, together" pink and blue ribbon car magnets for $29.95 with $15 benefiting the March of Dimes. Give them to family and friends so they can show their support for the March of Dimes mission of saving babies.. |
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| TIP OF THE MONTH | ||
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Cut back on tuna
If you're pregnant or planning pregnancy,
limit your consumption of albacore (white) tuna to 6 oz. or less
a week. Albacore tuna contains more mercury - which may harm a developing
baby - than canned light tuna. According to the Food and Drug Administration
and the Environmental Protection Agency, it's safe to eat up to
12 oz. per week of other fish that are lower in mercury, such as
shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock and catfish. |
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