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Words of encouragement, I want to give hope to others!
KimberlyFL98 - 03:12am Sep 20, 2011 EST
Hello everyone, I have wanted to share my story with March of Dimes for many years, and now that I am a Mom myself, I really feel the need to reach out to other parents.
My story is not about my children, but about myself. So, I guess you could say this is my Mom's story! But I hope by sharing it, I may bring encouragement to families with preemies, and so that they may know that as a preemie, I had all odds against me, and because of my Mother's unyielding love and support, and an amazing nurse, I overcame all the odds. It still never ceases to amaze me when I think of how truly lucky I am and how blessed I am to have such a wonderful Mom!
So, here goes... My mother had 4 children, and had an increasingly more difficult time, and shorter gestation with each of us. I was the baby, and I was a twin. She had no idea she was carrying twins until, at 3 months, she had a miscarriage. She thought she lost the baby, and when they were ready to treat her for miscarriage, they discovered there was another baby struggling for life. She was put on strict bed rest, but 3 months later, at about 23 weeks, I decided I was ready to greet the world! That was in 1982, when medical technology was no where near what it is today! I was born breech, and only weighed 1.5 pounds, and my Mom almost died bringing me into the world. Her first words were, is she OK? The Dr. wouldn't give her any other answer but "She's breathing". A wonderful and compassionate nurse by the name of Kim Sweet (my parents named me after her, and my dad gave me my mom's middle name) swooped me up and rushed me to NICU. Nurse Sweet, along with Mom hardly left my side for the following 3 months while I was in the hospital. The Dr.s were telling my parents that just because I was alive, I wasn't in the clear. They told them I would suffer from severe mental and physical disabilities for the rest of my life due to being born at 6 months.
From the moment my Mom brought me home, she worked with me and nurtured me and the amount of love and devotion she gave all of us growing up is incredible, she is such an amazing woman! And because of all that love, and hard, hard work, I not only grew up with NO physical OR mental disabilities, I excelled in all of my studies throughout my school years, went to college, and I have always been an extremely active person, I played sports, I was a cheerleader, as a young adult I found a passion for ballet and ballroom dancing. Something Mom and I do together!
So, as I wrap it up, I guess I wanted to share this so others would be inspired by my story. And like I said, as a parent myself now, I can't imagine what my Mom went thru, and what others out there who share similar stories must go thru in having a premature baby. But, without question I do know, my Mom believed in me, never gave up, and without her, I may not be here, and I certainly wouldn't be who I am today! I like to think that with hope, unyielding love, and God's grace, anything is possible!!!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story!
God Bless,
~Kimberly
Hello everyone, I have wanted to share my story with March of Dimes for many years, and now that I am a Mom myself, I really feel the need to reach out to other parents.
My story is not about my children, but about myself. So, I guess you could say this is my Mom's story! But I hope by sharing it, I may bring encouragement to families with preemies, and so that they may know that as a preemie, I had all odds against me, and because of my Mother's unyielding love and support, and an amazing nurse, I overcame all the odds. It still never ceases to amaze me when I think of how truly lucky I am and how blessed I am to have such a wonderful Mom!
So, here goes... My mother had 4 children, and had an increasingly more difficult time, and shorter gestation with each of us. I was the baby, and I was a twin. She had no idea she was carrying twins until, at 3 months, she had a miscarriage. She thought she lost the baby, and when they were ready to treat her for miscarriage, they discovered there was another baby struggling for life. She was put on strict bed rest, but 3 months later, at about 23 weeks, I decided I was ready to greet the world! That was in 1982, when medical technology was no where near what it is today! I was born breech, and only weighed 1.5 pounds, and my Mom almost died bringing me into the world. Her first words were, is she OK? The Dr. wouldn't give her any other answer but "She's breathing". A wonderful and compassionate nurse by the name of Kim Sweet (my parents named me after her, and my dad gave me my mom's middle name) swooped me up and rushed me to NICU. Nurse Sweet, along with Mom hardly left my side for the following 3 months while I was in the hospital. The Dr.s were telling my parents that just because I was alive, I wasn't in the clear. They told them I would suffer from severe mental and physical disabilities for the rest of my life due to being born at 6 months.
From the moment my Mom brought me home, she worked with me and nurtured me and the amount of love and devotion she gave all of us growing up is incredible, she is such an amazing woman! And because of all that love, and hard, hard work, I not only grew up with NO physical OR mental disabilities, I excelled in all of my studies throughout my school years, went to college, and I have always been an extremely active person, I played sports, I was a cheerleader, as a young adult I found a passion for ballet and ballroom dancing. Something Mom and I do together!
So, as I wrap it up, I guess I wanted to share this so others would be inspired by my story. And like I said, as a parent myself now, I can't imagine what my Mom went thru, and what others out there who share similar stories must go thru in having a premature baby. But, without question I do know, my Mom believed in me, never gave up, and without her, I may not be here, and I certainly wouldn't be who I am today! I like to think that with hope, unyielding love, and God's grace, anything is possible!!!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story!
God Bless,
~Kimberly
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