The Daly family: Sean, Elisa and Emma
This is the Daly family's first year walking for March for Babies
We met in March of 2001, and had been married for two years when we decided to try to have children. We were thrilled to have a positive pregnancy test, but miscarried at 6 weeks. We were sad about this loss as we were excited about the idea of having a baby. We decided to try again soon afterwards. There was another positive pregnancy test! At our first ultrasound appointment, however, no heartbeat could be found. This second loss created confusion and frustration since we couldn’t figure out what we were doing “wrong”.
After several months we considered trying again, and this time we discussed with the doctor any measures we could take to prevent another loss. Tests were done and they came back clear. Soon we were expecting again. We made it through the first trimester and breathed a sigh of relief…finally! Thoughts of a future with our baby began to take shape. However, those plans changed suddenly on February 18th when I was admitted into the hospital when I was 24 weeks pregnant. There were clots in the placenta which caused our baby to become severely growth restricted. After 2 weeks of hospital bedrest and non-stop monitoring, it was decided that our baby girl would be better off outside. We began to prepare ourselves for a preemie, including tours of the NICU and information from hospital staff about what to expect in the weeks and months ahead. While being prepped in labor and delivery, the doctors and nurses could not find our baby’s heartbeat. We lost our first born Caroline Rose Daly on March 3, 2008. They say: “When a child loses their parents they are called an orphan. When a husband loses a wife he is called a widower. But when a parent loses a child there is nothing to be called, there are simply no words”. This was a heart wrenching time for us, where we grieved not only our baby but also for the person that she would have become.
A little over six months later I was pregnant again and we decided to take on a new doctor. There was research that supported the use of blood thinners to help with the clotting previously seen. I took aspirin and gave myself shots containing blood thinners in the stomach every day. Beginning in the second trimester, I began going for ultrasounds twice a week. At the ultrasound visit during week 36, we were told that this was it and we were brought to labor and delivery. The decision was made to induce labor and that it would take most of the day. We had parked at a meter, so Sean went to move the car into a parking lot. When he was on his way back, he saw the doctor in the hallway and she said things had changed, the baby's heart rate dropped and they were preparing me for an emergency c-section. At 2:21PM on April 21, 2009 Emma Grace Daly was born weighing 4 lbs 1 oz and 16 1/2 inches long. Emma did very well in the NICU. The nurses were all impressed with how well Emma progressed. Emma is currently 26 months old, 27 pounds, walking, chattering up a storm and simply amazing to be around. We are so thankful for her every single day.
Emma in the NICU
The March of Dimes has played an important role on our journey to having Emma, from researching on their website to receiving a NICU Family Support package in our hospital room. However, there is still a lot of work to be done by the March of Dimes to prevent premature births. We walk for our daughter Caroline as well as our friends Elizabeth and David's twin boys Daniel and Cormac, who passed away in the NICU due to complications following pre-term labor. We walk for a better future for all of us.
Emma at 20 months old
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