OUR 2011 BOSTON AMBASSADOR FAMILY: ABBY, DEREK, JARED AND JEREMY STERN

Jared and Mommy in the NICU

This is the Stern Family's 7th year walking in March for Babies as team JZ. Abby is a dedicated volunteer of the March of Dimes and a true champion of our mission. They are consistently a top family team and have raised over $65,000 for the March of Dimes! This is why they walk:



I was 22 weeks pregnant with my twin boys when I was admitted to the hospital.

The outlook was grim.

I was asked if I would want to continue my pregnancy knowing that only one baby, if either, would survive.

My answer was simple.

I was already a Mother.

And I held on further than anyone thought I would.

6 weeks in the hospital and at exactly 27wks, 6 days, I gave birth to two beautiful sons.

It was the best day of my life.

It was the worst day of my life.

7 hours later, my first born son Zachary, passed away from underdeveloped lungs.

His twin, Jared, spent the next 180 days in two different NICU’s.

I was a first time mother grieving the loss of her baby.

I was a first time mother who needed to be strong for her surviving child.

This wasn’t what I had imagined motherhood to be.

I was visiting my child daily in a hospital instead of looking at him every minute at home.

He was 30 days old until I could even hold him in my arms.

Instantly I became a nurse, respiratory therapist and pulmonologist.

Jared was attached to a ventilator (through his tracheostomy, a breathing tube they needed to insert into his neck) until he was 19 months old.

Our home and our lives were turned upside down.

My organized household had become a makeshift NICU filled with oxygen tanks and back up ventilators.

Therapists and nurses were a constant in our lives.

I’ve been asked many times throughout the years “How did we do it? How did we get through it?”

I look at my son and smile.

It’s called unconditional love.

Jared is now 7 ½ and looking at my first grader today you would not know about his early arrival in life. Other than a small scar around his neck from where his trach was and some mild learning issues, you wouldn’t know what the beginning of his life was like.
You wouldn’t know I spent hours upon hours praying he would survive.
You wouldn’t know that the first two years of his life he spent attached to a ventilator just so he could breathe.
You wouldn’t know that he was a true miracle.
But I know it.  

Every single day.

Please check out our site at www.marchforbabies.org/abbystern to learn more about our story.

Fundraising tips:

Network and reach out to everyone you know. You would be surprised how many people will be touched by hearing your story. Parents friends, colleagues, former high school friends. Facebook has been my best networking tool and I’ve been amazed at how many old friends have reached out to support me.

Make a video. If you go to my website under the part on top that says “blog” is a link to our video. I made it through ONE TRUE MEDIA and I think it’s a great way to let others learn your story.

The Stern Family