Sunday was Parents of Preemies Day, with events scheduled all over the country. One was held here in Toledo at Health REIT.
Parents and families of premature babies need the love and support of those who can understand what they are going through.
Graham's Foundation does exactly that - it brings together families who can relate to the struggles and triumphs along the journey of having a premature child.
Max Bucher is almost three, but has battled health problems from his premature birth. His father Matt says, "He battled through most of the adversity that preemie babies do: underdeveloped lungs, of course they're undersized and lots of transfusions."
Support from friends and family helped his parents through Max's 89 days spent in the hospital. Matt Bucher says Graham's Foundation has helped them cope.
Eric McPartland, executive director of Graham's Foundation, said this year they are using social media to bring people together across the country and around the world.
"We have people telling their stories on our Facebook page and we will have a Twitter event from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. People can use the hashtag #parentsofpreemiesday to connect to use," McPartland said.
Jennifer Hall started Graham's foundation in memory of her son. In 2006, she delivered premature twins at only six weeks. Baby girl Reese survived, but sadly Graham did not.
Her husband Nick says, "I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful to have parents who are going through it and have been through it get together and commiserate and share different experiences they're going through?"
You can learn more about Parents Of Preemies Day and Graham's Foundation by clicking on the links below.
https://www.facebook.com/parentsofpreemiesday
http://parentsofpreemiesday.org/main.htm
http://www.grahamsfoundation.org/home.html
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WICU. All Rights Reserved.
