Sarah Crocker

Dylan Crocker

In August of 2005, David and I were happy to learn we were pregnant but got an even bigger surprise when we found out it was with triplets. We knew they would not go full term but were determined to keep the babies in the womb as long as we could.

The pregnancy went better than most. At a 28-week checkup the doctor told us I was preeclamptic and one of our children was not growing as well as he would like. Nothing improved so at 29 ½ weeks, three healthy children arrived who had received surfactant developed by the March of Dimes (MOD). Dylan at 3 pounds, 2 ounces, Ryan (his identical twin brother) at 1 pound, 12 ounces and Sarah at 2 pounds, 5 ounces.

Most people do not realize how small this really is. Men, if you have a ring, this would fit completely on one of our children’s arms or legs. They make wee-pee diapers that are especially made for micro-sized preemies. I promise you will not find these at Wal-Mart. So, as you see, they were very tiny and fragile.

All of our children were sent to Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) due to their prematurity to be monitored. NICU units were first pushed by the March of Dimes. If it wasn’t for this development, our children would not have made it from the start. Dylan and Sarah did so well that in less than two weeks they were in the step-down nursery.

At Ryan’s 1-month birthday, we got the great news that he was on the list to move from NICU to the step-down nursery. We were praising God that we were about to leave without complications. We had defeated the odds- ……we thought…but then suddenly our world crashed.

Ryan became very ill and was not a textbook case. He puzzled everyone. It became mind boggling and even harder to put into words. It was a terrifying roller coaster and we never knew what the next minute would hold.

After a two month stay in the hospital Dylan and Sarah came home, but sadly we left Ryan as he fought to live. Ryan kept giving us hope by defying the odds that he would pull through. After 112 long and hard struggling days in NICU, Ryan passed away in my arms. We never would have been able to have the time we did had it not been for the continuing commitment of the March of Dimes to provide care.

Prematurity can happen to any race, economic background or nationality, not just those who do not take care of themselves as a lot of us think. As we found out firsthand, do not always assume it will happen to someone else.

Even though we have lost Ryan, we feel it is our purpose to make people more aware of this issue. From the fear of a parent wondering if they are a phone call away from losing their child as we were, to a mother not being able to hold her child for days or weeks as I was; to a father seeing his child being bagged and resuscitated in front of him like David did.

All of these are heartbreaking but true realities. People who have normal deliveries take for granted the typical things that we wished we could have had. For, you see, one thing we never got to experience was holding Ryan without wires or devices while he was alive. It was not until his death that we held him for the first time freely…to embrace and love like every parent should.

All of the doctors, nurses and staff work effortlessly to pull off miracles every day.

Did you realize that one in six children are born prematurely?

So, I am asking each of you to please give every child a fighting chance. We do not want another family to go through what we encountered. After hearing our story we hope you understand why the March of Dimes matters and is so important.

Look at our children. They are true miracles because of the March of Dimes. To us it is an easy choice. We must help fund the mission and prevent prematurity, infant morality and birth defects.