Meet Charlotte. Beautiful vibrant amazing little Charlotte! This girl is nothing less than a miracle. Truly 100%. You see Charlotte is a special little girl. She was born at just 23 weeks 6 days gestation. She weighed 1 pound 3 ounces and was just 11 inches long. What unfolded for this sweet family consisted of months in the NICU and PICU, surgeries, close calls, scares, joy, humility, strength and hope. And as Charlotte continues to fight and thrive and live their journey through prematurity and its aftermath continues. Even today her parents struggle with yet another decision to make about what is best for her, how to keep her alive. To quote her mother, “…you know the beauty of making decisions? It means we have a child here, a child for whom to make decisions. A child who has survived prematurity, even if only barely, and has overcome so much.”
Today is World Prematurity Day. Although I haven’t experienced giving birth to a premature child first hand, I’ve known far too many who have, some who have had to lay their sweet tiny babies to rest before their lives could even really begin. Did you know that United States has the highest rate of prematurity in the developed world? 1 in 8 babies in the US is born too soon. And while not all cases of prematurity end in sadness or struggle, it doesn’t take away the fact that we have a duty to help our children begin this life in the best way possible. Prematurity must be stopped.
This family and this sweet little girl have gotten ahold of my heart. To learn more about Charlotte and her family you can read all about it HERE. To learn more about World Prematurity Day click HERE. And to learn how you can help fight against prematurity check out The March of Dimes website. PLEASE I implore you to read and learn as much as you can. I truly believe that the more the information penetrates the masses the more we can fight for those tiny little lives!! We have to. Because when I see a mother and father so excited that their little girl stood on her own 5 seconds before falling down when she should be walking and running and talking, I can’t NOT try to help.
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