April is a storied month in the Mistak household.
Less than two weeks ago (April 12th) Jessica and I celebrated John Michael’s 4th birthday. During the first 48 hours of John’s life celebrating a fourth birthday seemed like the remotest of possibilities. While he was a generous weight for a 28 weeker at 4 pounds 1 ounce, he was born very ill. In a lot of ways he was more symptomatic of a 24-26 weeker. His blood pressure remained far too low and his prognosis would become far more grim if that didn’t change soon. Luckily his blood pressure did eventually normalize. Though John would require a surgery prior to leaving his 52 day stay in the NICU, two surgeries since graduating from the NICU and a small army of doctors and therapists; John is a happy and dare I say healthy 4 year old. John has been a blessing to me, his Mother, his Grandparents and all of our extended family and friends. This would not be possible without the research funded by donors such as you.
Now, in less than two weeks (April 30th) we will celebrate the first birthday of John’s brother Patrick. Patrick is also a success story for the March of Dimes. Knowing that following a premature birth, expectant mothers have to be particularly careful; Patrick, through his Mother’s diligence and the accumulated knowledge and experience of the March of Dimes, was the product of a full-term pregnancy.
Finally, this Saturday (April 27th) Jessica & I will be participating in our 4th March of Dimes March for Babies. While I am generally uncomfortable with soliciting for donations, I ask that you consider making a donation (no matter the size) to our team for the March of Dimes March for Babies. As the recipient of not 1 but 2 miracles that the March of Dimes undoubtedly contributed to, I can think of no greater reward than to help future parents be capable of stating the same thing.