Christmas Day of 2004 is a Christmas I will never forget. I was 24 weeks pregnant with my wonderful little girl who was not due until April 16, 2005. For some unexplained reason, Taylor decided she wanted to see the world. I went into labor despite what all the doctors and nurses tried to do. I delivered a 1lb, 6oz precious little girl on 12/27/04. She was the tiniest thing I had ever saw. Her eyes were fused together and her ears fused to the back of her head. The hospital was unable to care for her, so she was flown to Jackson, MS within 2 hours of her birth. Taylor was only given a 20 percent chance at life and was expected to be severally retarded. They did not expect her to make it through the night. She sure did prove us wrong. I can remember just praying my heart out for her and asking GOD to hold her. Taylor went through many ups and downs, but amazingly pulled through. She faced many obstacles along the way. She had 3 very bad infections, and with each one she was fighting all the way. Taylor had her first surgery weighing only 1lb 3oz. She had a PDA at that time which led to her left lung collapsing. Taylor also had eye surgery in February to help correct her vision. Taylor was on a ventilator for 2 months, and continued to stay on oxygen after that. After 31⁄2 months in the hospital, and just 4 days before her due date she was able to come home. April 12, 2004, is also a day I will never forget. She was almost 4 months old, but looked like a newborn baby weighing only 5lbs, 3ozs. Although she came home on oxygen, by June she was able to come off that too. She still has issues that we go through everyday, but by GOD’S grace I know we will overcome them. She would not take a bottle and is fed by a g-tube in her stomach. We are working with therapists and hope we can get her drinking. Taylor also has glasses due to the extreme prematurity. We continue to have PT, OT, and speech to help with her developmental delays. She loves to be outside, but has asthma and has to limit her time outside. Even with all these problems, she is a very happy, smart, and very active little girl. The doctors and nurses in the NICU at Jackson were wonderful and through the March of Dimes they can do even more.

Every year, half a million babies in the U.S. are born prematurely. Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death and many lifelong disabilities. The funds we raise in Walk America support research that saves babies’ lives. The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Please help support the March of Dimes so more children like Taylor have the same chance at life as she did.



Alicia Rainer

Ambassador Family

Meridian