Walkin' for Madelyn & Payton

My niece, Erin, has decided to have a team for the March for Babies in Louisville on May 8th. I am HONORED that she has asked me to join her team & walk with her. I will be proudly walking beside her on that day!

She was inspired to do this for her little girls, Madelyn & Payton. The March of Dimes donates money to help premature babies & their families...among many other things. I am extremely proud of her for wanting to give back & help other families that went through some of the things they went through when her 2 babies were born.

Madelyn was born in Jul 08 6 weeks premature. A specialist was brought in right after she was born to check her lung function. Thankfully, they were developed enough that she could breath on her own. But, little Payton had a much longer, harder battle that may not be over. (Disclaimer - I have permission from Erin to share these pics w/ you...)

I talked to you a little bit about Payton's birth in a blog post http://thefarmingmcafees.blogspot.com/2009/11/im-great-aunt-again.html. But at the time, so many things were up in the air & of course, I want to try to respect everyone's privacy so I couldn't say a whole lot (which ya'll know was KILLIN' me!) But I wanted to share just a little snippet of Payton's story with you to explain why we are going to participate in this walk.

Payton weighed 9 lbs 15 oz when she was born (yikes!) The delivery was traumatic for her AND for Erin. She was deprived of oxygen & had to be taken to Kosair's immediately. This was our first glimpse of baby Payton. All bundled up & strapped in - ready to go.

She had to be at Kosairs for 2 1/2 weeks while they performed tests on her little brain & body. (Ok - not such a little body!) Erin's 1st visit with her new gal.
Thankfully today, Payton is doing ok. All her brain function tests came out good. She has a little issue with her left arm. At first it didn't move - at all. But recently she has started moving it a little which is a great sign!

So there's the story. I'm SO proud of Erin for wanting to do this to help others so that their families may not have to go through everything her & Payton did.

If you would like to donate (we would SO appreciate it!), or just read more about the March of Babies - you can go to my page www.marchforbabies.org/jmcafee.

I have already been blessed with $95 in donations & that is just awesome! My personal goal is $250. Don't forget - your donation is tax deductible! And that's always a good thing!

Thank you for prayers you offered Erin & her family during that stressful time! I'm not a real religious kinda gal - but there were LOTS of prayers being lifted in their names & I KNOW that I KNOW that I KNOW that the Lord was looking down on them & continues to do so today.

Thank you SO much for any help you can give us! (Even thinking happy thoughts for us during our walk on May 8th would be GREAT!) You know, we'll be walking the mean streets of Louisville...