Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. Two of them, Sophia and Evelyn, are beloved members of our family. Sophia Grace, born 12/31/2010, was born at 20 weeks gestation. After noticing some major problems with her limbs and lack of fetal movement, we were told she would likely pass away of a rare genetic condition. Her diagnosis is still unknown to this day. She was peacefully born too early, yet still breathing. The hour-and-a-half we had with her marked the first time we became parents. We held her, talked to her, smiled at her beautiful face, and watched her take her last breath in her daddy’s arms. A guardian angel to her little sister Eveyln, Sophia remains a huge part of this family, through spirit and memory.
On July 16, 2015, Evelyn Hope was born. Plagued with similar limb contractures as big sister Sophia, Evelyn, too, was born early. At 31 weeks 4 days, she had what Sophia never got: a fighting chance. After five weeks in the NICU, daily physical and occupational therapy, and meeting many milestones, she came home. Today, while she continues to need therapies to strengthen her arms and legs, and has undergone treatment for clubbed feet, Evelyn thrives and is a happy, healthy eight-month-old.
Team Sophia and Evelyn represents the love, struggle, tears, and ultimately hope we experienced on our journey to starting a family. The March of Dimes walk is our small contribution to an organization that can offer such promise to other families and babies in need. Through our experience in the NICU, we realized the wide scope of premature birth, as well as sick babies. It is not rare. It touches many people, often quietly and painfully. We want more babies to make it home like Evelyn did. Please support our walk. Please support the other babies who are struggling to make a start at life.
We look forward to enjoying a beautiful day on April 9th as Evelyn experiences her first March of Dimes walk. We participate with the sincere hope that our fortunate outcome will become the norm. If you would like to be a part of our contribution to the health of babies, please click the link below for more information on how you can donate to Team Sophia and Evelyn.
Thank you for helping us give all babies a healthy start!
Laura Gaddis 