Friday, April 23, 2010

Television Debut

Shelly, Morgan and I, along with some of our friends and family, will be participating in this weekend's March for Babies. It is the major fundraising event for the March of Dimes, which is the leading non-profit supporter of research, community services, education and advocacy relating to prematurity, birth defects and low birthweight.

With everything we've had going on lately, including me starting a new job last week, we haven't spent a lot time fundraising or recruiting others to walk with us. However, if you're reading this, there is still time. You can donate to our team or sign up to walk with us here.

http://www.marchforbabies.org//s_team_page.asp?seid=1367274

However, we did get the chance to help out the event in another way. Morgan's story will be featured this weekend on one of the local news stations to promote Sunday's walk.

On Wednesday, the three of us and Dr. Khan, who oversaw a lot of Morgan's care while she was there and is the director of the Children's Memorial Hermann NICU, met with a crew from KPRC Channel 2 in Houston. It is scheduled to air on Friday, possibly Saturday, and on the Sunday morning newscast.

Probably more exciting than doing the interview was getting to see how impressed Dr. Khan was with Morgan's progress. Knowing that he deals with premature babies on such a regular basis, and seeing how amazed he was that she can already roll over, hold her head up so well, and the way she focuses on people and things was a really nice feeling. It absolutely reinforced how far she has come and how grateful we are that Morgan is doing so well.

While we were back at the NICU, we also ran into another mother who we had met during our stint there. Her baby was born at the same gestation just a couple days after Morgan. The baby is doing well now, but unfortunately has had more setbacks along the way and still has at least another month in the NICU.

Knowing that Morgan was just as likely to still be in the hospital is a scary thought. She is clearly the exception to the rule. Which is why we jumped at the chance to support the March of Dimes by particpating in and promoting the March for Babies. As Dr. Khan said, if she had been born ten years ago, Morgan would not have survived. The funding and support provided by March of Dimes is why it is possible today.


The March of Dimes needs you to help more babies get...



...from here>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>to there


Thank You!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Swallow Study

Morgan had a follow-up swallow study yesterday to see if we could discontinue thickening her milk. We were surprised that the test showed she wasn't ready yet. As they thinned the liquid more and more, some would go down her air pipe which puts her at risk for pneumonia. Unlike when she had her first swallow study, this time she didn't cry or fuss. Instead of taking the bottle right away she had fun by chewing on the nipple and not wanting to eat. For Easter Sunday service she did the same thing with chewing on her pacifier and likes to laugh when it pops in and out of her mouth. Its amazing in just these last few days how easy it is to make her smile and laugh.

Happy Late Easter....