Help Megan raise money

Our son, Thomas, made his arrival 9 weeks early when I was just 31 weeks pregnant - barely into my 3rd trimester. We spent 50 days in the NICU. Thomas started on oxygen support, had an IV for nourishment until they put the feeding tube in, and was in an incubator that helped keep his body temp where it needed to be. His first bath was under a heat lamp, in warm blankets, so his body temp didn’t drop; he was under phototherapy for jaundice which made him extremely angry. He had a feeding tube up until about a week prior to discharge which was at about 36 weeks gestation (also when the suck, swallow, breath coordination develops). During Thomas’ 50-day NICU stay, we celebrated every milestone like we do today. Today and every day, we are grateful for the fighter that  Thomas has always been.

Seven years later, I am running the Falmouth Road Race for Project Sweet Pea, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about prematurity and supporting families with premature or sick babies in the NICU. If one message sticks, it’s that being born early isn’t just being born small. You’re born underdeveloped—you need help breathing, you can’t maintain your own body temperature, you haven’t yet developed the ability to eat on your own, and much more. These are all things babies born at full term can likely do on their own.

I was introduced to Project Sweet Pea when Thomas was in the NICU. They had just dropped off care packages to families for St Patrick’s Day. Since that day, I’ve followed the organization. Now, I’m giving back to them all they do for families and children born early or needing extra care early on. Please consider helping me reach my fundraising goal of $1,000.