March for Babies 2010

So on August 12th I met with the local March of Dimes committee regarding the 2010 March for Babies walk. I was extremely nervous about going and didn’t know what to expect or how many people would be there. I already knew 2 committee members – 1 through friends and was the Ambassador Mom for 2007 and 1 I met while his twins were in the NICU with Gillian and he was the Ambassador Father 2008. It is different to be around other parents that know my pain. Every child’s story is different but in some ways they over lap and pretty much all of us have been through some form of hell. So we met for almost 2 hours and threw out ideas and names to start getting the ball rolling and at least once a week I think about the upcoming walk and the fact that I need to start preparing for it but I also think about the speech I will write and give to the 400-500 people that will attend the event. Yes, I will be speaking. Sometimes I wonder why I’m torturing myself by giving a speech because I know I will be a stressed out about it but I have some pretty good reasons:

1 – It’s an amazing cause. Without the March of Dimes Gillian would probably not be here.

2 – I think Gillian’s story is truly inspirational. To be delivered at 26 weeks gestation and 3 years later have no developmental delays or a handicap is phenomenal.

3 – I feel that if Gillian survived all her hardships, I can survive the speech to help others.

I had applied last April to be the Ambassador Mom for 2010 and because I’m crazy about numbers I feel like it is the perfect year to do it. I found out in May that I had been picked after I shared Gillian’s story with the March of Dimes but until it was announced at the committee meeting I feel like it just wasn’t concrete. January through the end of April are the hardest months of the year for me. That is when I was sick and Gillian was born and Gillian was on a vent until the end of April. Although it will be 4 years I have a thing for dates and as I pass each date I remember 4 years before what was going on. The focus that I put on the walk gets me through these months. So I am determined to have a fabulous 4 months in the start of 2010 and I will proudly stand before a crowd of people probably in the freezing cold and share Gillian’s story. I hope to see everyone there!