Oklahoma

Hi my name is Brooke and we are the Ambassador family for the OKC metro. I have 2 1/2 year old twin boys who were born at 28 weeks, our story is attached to my first message. I don't know of any support groups right off hand but I'm sure there are some. I would suggest calling the NICU and asking them if they know of any. I will also check and see what I can find out.

Brooke

I was looking through my NICU info and I found a number for the Neonatal Parents Network of Oklahoma 949-4130. I hope this helps.

Brooke

Thank you for the explanation on how to post pictures on the web site. Since you are from OKC have you ate at Toby Keith's restaurant? If you haven't girl you need to go there and eat. His food is so good. I would like to back but, that will be a little hard on me since we lost our baby girl at the Childrens Hospital. I hope you have a good weekend. Misty

Thanks for the info. I will give them a call and see what they offer. Do you happen to know when the walk info. for 2006 will be available? We didn't get to participate last year because of a death in the family but we definitely want to this coming year.

Oklahoma City's walk is on May 6th. The info will be sent out sometime in January. If this is your first year to participate let me know, so I can make sure they get you on the mailing list.

Brooke

Hi Brooke. I was just wanting to know what is the Oklahoma City walk? If you could write me back and let me know. Thanks, Misty

WalkAmerica is one of the biggest fund raisers for the March of Dimes. They have a walk every year to promote prematurity awareness and raise money to prevent prematurity. The OKC walk is a 6 mile walk on May 6th. The walk is a way for anyone who's lives have been touched by prematurity to get involved. It's also for anyone who just wants to help raise money for the cause.

If you would like to participate let me know and I can make sure you get all the info you need.

Brooke

I think that would be great for me to do something like that. I could do that for the baby I just lost and for my 4yr. old. She was premature. She was 5weeks early and she had to have tubes put in her ears when she was 1yr. old and now it set her back alittle. I would be interested in something like that. Here is my address (823 E. 60th Place North Tulsa, Ok. 74126). Thanks for the info. BIG HUGS this holiday season, Misty

My name is Ashley and I gave birth via c-section to my daughter, Chastity on April 11, 2002. I was 24 weeks pregnant and had went into premature labor owing to a weak cervix. We were able to have steroid shots administered while attempting to put off labor a little longer, but she decided she was ready to come out despite the magnesium iv's. She weighed 1 pound and 15.7 ounces (thanks in part to the steroid injections) and was 14 inches long. She only had a 5-10% chance of survival on her first day of life and her father was told she probably wouldn't be alive for longer than 10 minutes, but thankfully she was strong enough to survive. She was on the ventilator much longer than most preemies and when she was finally moved to an isolette, she had to be placed in the back since she was so sensitive to noises and light. She was later diagnosed with aqueductal stenosis - a rare form of hydrocephalus - in the NICU and had undergone blood infusions and a spinal tap already. We were told that there was a strong probability that she would also be mentally handicapped as well as suffer from cerebral palsy. Fortunately her neurosurgeon - Dr. Francell, was able to perform a surgery on her brain that allowed her to not worry about having to have a shunt placed. The spinal fluid finally began to drain and everything was great. We were able to bring her home approximately three months after she was born and yes, she had a few set backs but nothing too serious. She was on oxygen and a heart monitor for a little over 6 months after her hospital release. She also acquired RSV and was hospitalized early on in the diagnosis. Other than that, we are very happy to have our three year old daughter who is not only able to walk and physically function just as well (if not better) as full-termers, she is also incredibly intelligent for her age. Her doctor is extremely impressed with her intellect that we were warned would probably be absent. She can recognize the alphabet and her numbers and colors and shapes. She can speak large parts of the Spanish language as well as Lakota Sioux, Hebrew (my collegiate language at OU) and Russian (her father's collegiate language at OU). They say it is typical for preemies to be "bratty" for lack of a better term, but our daughter is incredibly polite and well-mannered. She is truly our angel from above and during her stay in the NICU, we prayed and prayed and prayed for her health and well-being. There was nothing we wanted more than for her to stay alive, no matter her physical and mental capacity. Luckily the Lord has been very kind and merciful in our situation and we have nothing else to be this thankful for. I am now 33 weeks pregnant with a boy and had to have a cervical cerclage placed in order to prevent another premature birth, I also had the steroid injections at about 26 weeks just in case. I know not everyone's story is as positive as mine, but I am just giving hope to those who feel they do not have any. ANYTHING is possible and Chastity proved that!

I'm sorry I was going on about OKC and I didn't realize you lived in Tulsa. I am just involved with the OKC March of Dimes. I know that Tulsa's walk is also on May 6th. You can call them, so that they can send you the walk info 918-742-0333.

Brooke

Hey, that's okay. It's kinda hard to get a hold of the supervisor here at the Tulsa office. I guess I will try again tomorrow. Thank you again for your help. Misty

If you are not able to talk to anyone at the Tulsa office, you can register on line. Go to www.walkamerica.org and put your zip code in the Find A Walk Near You space. That might be easier.

Brooke

Thanks again for your help. When is the deadline to get registered to do the Walk America? I'll try the website later. Misty

How do I go about the fund raising money? I haven't helped with any fund raisiers yet. That's why I asked you to help me get registered in OK. City. Please write me or call me to let me know all the info. Thanks, Misty

Hi Misty!

Thanks so much for your willingness to particpate in WalkAmerica. We very much appreciate it! Just so you know, I have asked your local Division Director to contact you. You can also always feel free to call or email me with any questions. I can be reached at jsoohoo@marchofdimes.com or at 914-997-4258.

Thanks again!

- James
March of Dimes - National Office

Once you register online you can print out a sponsor page to keep track of all your donations. You can also set up a personal web page with MOD and people can make donations online. Last year I sent letters to all my friends and family telling them about our story, explaining the mission March of Dimes and why I was raising money. I gave them the option to send checks to me or go to my web page to make and online donation. You can view my web page at www.walkamerica.org/2miracles for an example. I hope this helps and good luck on your fund raising. I haven't started on my fund raising yet. Let me know if there is anything else you need help with.

Brooke

I HAVE A24 WEEK PREEMI AND I AM STILL DEVASTATED... THAKS FOR SHARING YOUR STORY...

I WOULD LIKE TO POST PICTURES BUT I DONT KNOW HOW TO.. ONCE I GET MY NEPHEWS AND NIECES (TEENAGERS)IWQILL ASK THEM FOR INSTRUCTRIONS.

Hi Isamar

To post a picture, it needs to be a .jpg or .gif

When you are posting, look at the box below all the smiley faces that says "Attachments". Click on the "browse button and find the picture you want to post on your harddrive. Choose the picture and click ok. Then after you fill in your message in the text area, click the "post my reply" button and the image will show up with your message text.

SHE WAS TRANSFERED TO RUSH HOSPITAL THEY WERE OK I GUESS.. ST. JOSEPH NURSING CARE IS BETTER THE NURSES WERE SO UNPROFESSIONAL AND MATURE. DYING TO LEAVE FOR LUNCH I KNOW THEY HAVE TO HAVE A LUNCH BUT THEY DONT HAVE TO KEEP ON REPEATING IT WHILE TAKING CARE OF MY BABY AS IF THEY ARE MORE CONCERNED OBOUT THAT AND LAUGHING OUTLOUD SO RUDE, I DONT KNOW I HOPE SHE GETS A BETTER NURSE TOMORROW..

Hi Brooke. I just wanted to Thank you for helping me get started with the Walk America thing. I talked to the lady that works here in the Tulsa office and she is gonna put me on the mailing list. If you ever want to talk you can either call or write. Here is my address (823 East 60th Place North Tulsa, Okla.). Here is my number(918 425-6637). Thank you again, Misty

I was happy to help. Good luck with your fundraising. I hope that walking in honor of your daughter will help you to heal. Please let me know if there is ever anything else I can do to help.

Brooke

Thanks again for helping me get started. I know that it will help me to walk for Jocelyn but, I am also gonna walk for my other daughter. Her name is Sophia and she was 5 weeks early. So, I am gonna walk for both of them. Thanks again, Misty

How can I get involved in Oklahoma March of Dimes?

Hi my name is Misty. Are you logged in already? If you are than there shouldn't be any problems. Where are you exactly from here in Oklahoma? I live here in Tulsa. If you are logged in and you have your pass word put in than once you come in to the Oklahoma site than you can talk to anybody. Sorry for the loss of your baby. I know what it's like to lose a baby because I lost mine last year and she was only 3months old. If you need some more help just let me know. God bless, Misty *littlemomof_4*

Hi my name is Brooke and I am the March of Dimes Ambassador Family for the Oklahoma City area. I am so sorry to hear that you lost your daughter. My heart always breaks when I read of parents losing there children. This is exactly why the March of Dimes is so important to me.

I would love to help you get involved with the March of Dimes in your area. There are several March of Dimes offices and events throughout Oklahoma. Let me know what town you live in and I can get you the number for an office near you.

Brooke

I had my second preemie on December 29, 2005. He was 28 weeks and weighed 2 pounds 9 ounces. He is doing very well and is up to 3 pounds 6 ounces now. He is no longer on oxygen or any IVs, just the feeding tube. We are so blessed that he is doing so well and will probably be home in 2-3 weeks. The doctors have told us that he has a brain bleed, but I can't seem to find out what excatly that means and what the possible complications may be. They don't seem to want to go in to details about much. We have also been informed that his bones are slightly transparent. When our daughter was born in June 2004 she didn't have any of the complications that he is having. If anyone can shed some light on these things I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!!

my son had a brain bleed. he was born at 23 weeks, he had a grade 3 on the left and a grade 4 on the right. The grade 4 was the maxiumim bleed. it was very massive. they didn't expect him to live the first week. He has a shunt. Which drains his celebral spinal fluid. From the brain bleed he developed something called hydrocelphas. It is water on the brain. it's something that is a result of a brain bleed. Usually a brain bleed is from being early. A person's blood carries oxygen, well with a premature baby basically you're not ready to do that. Well when that change happens, it causes the brain bleed. Like I said my son had a massive bleed. I don't know what kind yours had, but usually long term conplications comes from the grades 3 and 4. My son was diagonosed with celebral palsy. He has it on one side of his body, His left side of his body is really tight. He is compared to a stroke patient. He gets PT, OT and speech therapy. He is almost 2 years old now, and doing good. Naturally he is developmentally behind, not walking, crawling, or sitting without support, but his therapist says that they see a change in him daily. and they have high hopes for him. But everything will be okay trust in the Lord and stay strong. There have been times I have been so depressed and down, but I promised myself I would never let my son see it. love your baby with all your heart no matter what happens or the complications it may have. I have always said that the Lord wouldn't give a special child to just anyone. He gives them to people he knows is strong enough to handle them and people who will take care of them. i suggest you go to a book store and get books. I bought a book at Books a million, called Preemies, its about 500 to 600 pages and I have learned so much. We lived in Fort Smith AR, I saw you are from Oklahoma, please write back I would love to talk more. There so much that I can tell you about.

Thank you so much for the info. it helped a lot. We have tried to find books on preemies but the bookstores here don't seem to carry them. I guess I am going to have to order them from online. We made it through my daughter being in the NICU for 8 weeks, but she didn't have any medical conditions other than just being a preemie. With my son that is not the case so it is getting harder to just wing it on our own and the doctors this time are not as willing to sit down and explain things with you. My son is at OU Medical Center which is where my daughter was as well. It is a teaching hospital so you just get stuck with whatever resident is there at the same time you are. My daughter is the same age as your son. Her birthday is June 14th, when is your son's? Do you still live in Arkansas?

I was just wondering if anyone knew if there was a kickoff for the walk planned here in OKC?