Two years ago, all we really knew about the March of Dimes was they were the organization who sent us pretty mailing labels around the holidays and asked for a small donation in return. After the last 18 months, we have a whole new appreciation for the March of Dimes and it's mission to ensure stonger, healthier babies.
From early on in our pregnancy, we knew this was going to be an extraordinary journey; three little heartbeats on the ultrasound screen, a dream come true. Little did we know at the time, the rollercoaster journey our family was set out to endure. The pregnancy was difficult physically but there was nothing of special concern until my water broke unexpectedly at 25 weeks. After 12 hours at Mercy Medical Center monitoring my condition, the labor was unable to be stopped in time and on September 1, 2010, our three little girls were born. Annaliese Hope, Brenna Renee and Lucy Jane entered this world each weighing 1 pound, 8 ounces and were 12 inches long, they were smaller than a Beanie Baby. We were amazed at how very perfect they were, tiny, but absolutely perfect. Our sweet little babies, while so very beautiful were also very frail and sick. Each was in a fight for their life. In total, the Kamps triplets endured seven surgeries, multiple infections, and too many blood transfusions to even count during their stay in the Mercy NICU. We had numerous nights where it wasn’t clear they would see the next morning, but our angels are fighters and Annaliese, Lucy and Brenna were able to come home after 77, 79 and 152 days respectively. The girls are thriving today and are very active toddlers. We are so proud of our trio! We still are dealing with the lasting effects of their premature birth and it is not an easy road, but they are tough little girls!
We became involved with March of Dimes in 2011 to support their cause of prematurity awareness and research and also to celebrate the extraordinary lives of our little miracles. Without the medical research funded by the March of Dimes in recent years and the training and expertise of our wonderful neonatologists and nurses at Mercy, our story could have turned out very differently. Last year, our team consisted of 40+ friends and family members, and together we raised over $6200 for the March of Dimes. We would love to see each and every one of you again this year. Last year was a great year, and we are excited to try and top that this year.
One of the ways we hope to accomplish our goal is to add some business sponsorships to Team Kamps^3.We are hoping to find numerous business sponsorships and one company to potentially match what we raise, but any contribution would be greatly appreciated. If your business or company is interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship, please contact us for more information. You may also visit our March of Dimes team page, or visit us on Facebook for more of our story and information on personal donations and to learn more about our company sponsors. All donations are 100% tax deductible, and will support the March of Dimes mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.
The following video was made by Grandma Sheryl for the girls' first birthday, and chronicles our NICU stay. As a family affected by premature birth, we truly feel the research funded by the March of Dimes is the reason we were able to bring all three of our girls home. We look forward to seeing all of you at Principal Park on May 12th for the March of Dimes March for Babies!!!
