MARCH FOR BABIES: A MOTHER OF A MOVEMENT™
Memphis StepUp
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Shelby Farms Park
6903 Great View Drive North , Memphis, TN 38017
Date: Friday, May 15, 2020 9:00 AM
6903 Great View Drive North , Memphis, TN 38017
Date: Friday, May 15, 2020 9:00 AM
Our ambassador
The Winter Family
The Winter Family
Dear Friends,
We are privileged to serve as the ambassador family for the March of Dimes March for Babies in May 2020. Like many others we first met and began dating while in high school and were married in 2007. We wanted children but due to issues with infertility we began to wonder if we would ever be blessed with having children of our own. So by the summer of 2011 we began the often tortuous and non forgiving road of infertility treatments. After several failed attempts with fertility specialists in 2014 we decided to start the process of adoption.
It was Tuesday evening May 26, 2015 at 11:41 pm when our phone rang out and we had no idea how one simple phone call would change our lives forever! On the other end of the line was a young mother who had just given birth to a gift from heaven who couldn’t wait for her August due date. This precious little girl was born at 29 weeks, weighed a mere 2.5 pounds, was in the NICU in El Paso, Texas and this young mother had chosen us to be her parents.
The next morning we packed up the car and began our 18 hour journey to El Paso, Texas and to our precious gift from heaven. Our arrival at the NICU in El Paso is a moment we will always remember. The room was so cluttered and full of monitors, wires, beeping sounds and ventilation tubes we could hardly get our first glimpse of our precious angel. Although she was born premature at 29 weeks because of the advancements in technology, we were confident that she was here to stay. And she has proven to be a fighter. After only one week she decided she didn’t want those ventilation tubes anymore, so she wrestled and pulled them until the doctors removed the ventilator and she has never looked back. Every day was filled with emotion, some tears of joy, some setbacks and heartache, laughter and always love. We saw triumph and cheers from those families who were able to bring their little ones home from the hospital and sorry and sadness from others. In all we spent 8 weeks in El Paso before leaving Texas headed home to Tennessee with our now 4 pound 7 once bundle of joy.
As we have learned it is through the hard work and efforts of organizations such as the March of Dimes that have made it possible for Izzy to come home with us. When you support the March of Dimes you are turning stories like ours into reality and you are breathing life into children and families that will last a lifetime. Without all of the hard work and dedication from the volunteers at the March of Dimes we would not be parents today. Please let us continue to create this opportunity for other families by making a donation or forming a team to join us in the gift to make stronger healthier babies.
With warmest regards,
Lee and Mandy Winter
NATIONAL PARTNERS
Thank you to our local sponsors