By Shawna Kersh, Ambassador for March of Dimes
My name is Shawna Kersh, my husband is Wayne, and our two wonderful, smiling baby boys are Trevin and Kolby.
I just want to share our story with you and help you realize the life changing measures that the March of Dimes contributes to prematurity.
I went into pre-term labor with our twins at 21 weeks. I was put on complete at home bed rest. When I went back to the doctor the next week I was admitted into the hospital for pre-term labor.
The next couple months were a huge roller coaster ride. At 24 weeks my labor seemed to be progressing and the doctors were afraid I was close to delivery. I was given medication to help our babies’ lungs mature so they would have a better chance of breathing.
I made it to 32 weeks and that is more amazing than I can even explain. I delivered our boys on February 28, 2013.
They were born breathing on their own! Trevin was 3 pounds 12 oz. He was only on oxygen for a day. He had some apnea episodes so he was given caffeine for those. He did amazing!
He spent six weeks in the NICU at Centennial Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Nashville. He was 5 pounds 13 oz when he came home.
Kolby was 4 pounds 7 oz. He was on a C-pap and then high flow nasal canula for about a week and a half. He also received surfactant therapy for his lungs.
This is where I started to realize just how much the March of Dimes had indirectly contributed
to the health of our precious boys. Last year alone, over 16,000 babies received surfactant therapy to help with Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and ours was one of them, all thanks to the March of Dimes funding the research that lead to this discovery.
Our story could have had a very different outcome. Ten weeks, that is what I was able to give to our babies along with my doctors and nurses and all the interventions possible, thanks to the research being done by this wonderful organization. Those 10 weeks, I believe, gave our babies LIFE! Not a chance at life, but life itself.
When I first went into labor, they only weighed 1 pound each, and not even considered viable. But look at them now! They are happy, healthy toddlers. And you can’t even tell they were preemies.
More than 450,000 babies are born prematurely each year in the United States. March of Dimes researches are seeking the causes of prematurity as a step toward developing ways to prevent it. That is the ultimate goal.
What I would really like people to realize is just how involved the March of Dimes is, and you don’t even know it. Many of the interventions and medications I received were discovered because of the March of Dimes. When I was in the hospital, I was just worried about our babies’ health. My team of doctors and nurses knew what could help us and keep our boys inside and growing. So I trusted that. But the reason they know those things, comes back again to the March of Dimes.
They are like a silent partner behind the scenes making sure the medical teams know what needs to be done in those circumstances, because of the research and developments they have made in this fight
against prematurity.
I want to be involved and advocate as much as possible for this life changing organization. If I can help give someone else’s child what I was able to give to ours, then that will be one of the best things I can achieve. There are no words to describe how grateful we are for the life that our children now have.
There were many times when my medical team was uncertain of their fate, but we made it! They made it! I would just like to thank my medical team, who became like family to me, for being so phenomenal at making sure every measure was taken to keep our babies safe.
And on behalf of all preemie parents everywhere, thank you to the March of Dimes for your research, your time and effort against this prematurity battle. Trevin and Kolby are a symbol of what your hard work and determination can do. I know it is only advancing from here.