Fight for Premature Babies

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. One in eight babies is born too soon. Here is my son Jamie's story: About a week before I had my son I went to the ER with severe pain on my right side found out it was my gall-bladder. I started having what I thought was that same pain again. It felt excalty the same. When I couldn’t take it any more I went back to the ER but this time I was in labor and too far dilated for them to try to stop it and too far to be transfered to a different hospital. The doctor had just enough time to but on his gloves and catch Jamie. He was born at 27w1d. He was 2 pounds 5 ounces and 15 inches long. When he was less then an hour old he was air lifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital, about an hour from where we live. Jamie would spend the next 86 days in the NICU. We were luck and he was pretty healthy for his very young age. He went back an forth from C-PAP to nasal canula for 3 weeks. Then he got an infection of some kind and needed more help breathing so he was put on a vent for 2 days and then started the dance between the C-PAP and nasal canula again. He had a grade 1VH (brain bleed), PDA (duct in the heart that should close right after birth) that closed on it’s own before he came home and a heart mumur. He had several infections while in the hospital. He was born April 19, 2007 at 5:06am and came home July 14, 2007. In this picture Jamie was about a month and a half old and weighted 3lbs 10oz! It is my favorite one of him in the NICU.