Maddie
* Age: 4 * Born at 29 weeks gestation *
My daughter, Maddie Ree, was born on February 16, 2006. I was only 29 weeks pregnant with her, so she was more than 2 ½ months premature. The doctors could find no reason as to why I went into labor so early. I felt really ill the entire night before I had her and couldn’t hold anything down. My husband and I went to the doctor the next morning because I couldn’t shake the nausea. When they checked me, just to be safe, they found that I was 6 centimeters dilated. They couldn’t stop her birth at that point.
Terrified and unsure, I was rushed to another town that had Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the hospital. After another 10 hours or so, Maddie was born and was rushed out of the room by doctors before I could see her. We didn’t know if she would live or not.
Finally, we were able to see her and were told that at 3 lbs. 11 oz. she was actually quite big for being so premature. She continued to gain weight and grow stronger over the next two months and had few problems while at the NICU. She was released from the hospital on April 14, 2006.
Now, she’s a healthy and happy 4 year old. She goes to a special education pre-school and is given physical, occupational, and speech therapy there. Other than a slight speech delay and a lazy eye, you’d never know that she was once a tiny preemie!
~Andy
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