Thursday, November 17, 2011

Awareness

Damn. I haven't blogged in months. I think 5 to be exact. And not for lack of wanting to. Life has very much gotten in the way. Natalie is a little girl, plain and simple. She walks. She talks. She dances. She sings. She throws temper tantrums. She throws utensils. She is a little spitfire. She loves Elmo and Olivia the Pig. She knows all of the Sesame Street characters. She carries around a stuffed doggie that resembles our real dog Sam, and cannot so much as walk out of the ROOM without making sure doggie is in tow.

Today is Prematurity Awareness Day. And it is crucially important for us all to be cognizant of what that means. One in eight babies is born too soon. EIGHT. That is a lot of babies, if you think about how many babies are born each day... each minute. Many of those babies don't survive. Many do, but not without a hell of a struggle. And some just get really damned lucky.

We were one of those statistics... Natalie Diana arrived 9 weeks earlier than expected, and spent the first five weeks of her life in a little box, her oxygen and temperature regulated, tubes and wires delivering medicine and food and milk to her weak little body. She had limited contact with the ones that loved her most for that long, dark, cold winter. Thanks to the amazing tenderness and care of the ANGELS at the Phoenixville Hospital NICU, we are on the happy side of those statistics. Natalie is 6 weeks from turning 2, and other than the fact that she's a little tiny peanut, you'd never know the kid was early. Thankfully, she escaped with  no breathing problems, no developmental delays, no psychological damage from her early start. She is smart as a whip, beautiful, amazing, and so very brave.

Every time I look at my little girl, I love her more. And I am ever so eternally grateful and in awe of the amazing medical professionals who have dedicated their lives to pediatric and neonatal medicine. If not for their learned minds and steady, confident hands, who knows what this blog post would have been about. This is why I urge you to educate yourselves on the scary truths about premature birth. You may not be in a position to donate, but at least appreciate and understand the grave problem it poses to so many innocent babies who may be fighting for their lives. Or who have lost their fights. Or take a minute to be in awe, as I am, of the many children whose will to live and strength to persevere granted them a chance at a happy, healthy life - like my daughter, Natalie.

Please be aware. And hug a nurse next time you see one. Give him/her an even tighter squeeze if you find out they work in a NICU.