Visit Catharine’s Blog at
http://2008nationalambassador.wordpress.com/
Since Catharine was 16 weeks early, her eyes were fused shut and she fought for every breath, facing daily challenges caused by a heart defect, bleeding in her brain, jaundice and a heart murmur.
After 113 days in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Catharine went home with her parents and big brother, Michael, still fragile enough to need monitors and oxygen. Amazingly, she has no lasting consequences of her extremely premature birth, thanks in part to medical advances developed and funded by the March of Dimes.
Today, Catharine is a healthy 5-year-old with the energy of a firecracker — she loves singing, reading with her grandparents and swimming with her brother Michael. Susan says, “Perhaps one reason Catharine came into the world early is to let people know that even the tiniest babies can make a difference.”
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth.
The March of Dimes National Ambassador Program is an annual campaign, started in 1946, that puts a face on the March of Dimes mission. Throughout the year, the National Ambassador attends events and conferences, speaks with volunteers, does media interviews and appears with corporate leaders, celebrities and the President of the United States to raise awareness of the March of Dimes.
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Our mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. We carry out this mission through research, community services, education and advocacy to save babies’ lives. March of Dimes researchers, volunteers, educators, outreach workers and advocates work together to give all babies a fighting chance against the threats to their health: prematurity, birth defects, low birthweight.
To purchase this content in DVD format visit http://www.marchofdimes.com/catalog/category.aspx?categoryid=179&code=VIDEO%2fDVDS .