I was 28 weeks pregnant when I went to my regularly scheduled check-up appointment only to find out I was actually in labor. With no idea why I had gone into premature labor, Carter was born weighing only 3 pounds, 9 ounces and what should have been one of the happiest days of my life became one of the scariest. Carter needed a ventilator to breathe, a warming bed to regulate his temperature and a feeding tube for nourishment.

Carter spent 70 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Shands Hospital where he went through many ups and downs. Thanks to Surfactant Therapy, a treatment discovered by March of Dimes funded research, he was breathing on his own in less than a month. It was a treatment that probably saved Carter’s life.

Our family had no idea that on the day our first son was born, the March of Dimes would play such a huge role in saving his life and helping us get through our time at the hospital. We thank the March of Dimes and the volunteers who fundraise for everything they have done in the past, for everything they are doing now, and for all they will do in the future.

- The Almond Family
  GMFB 2012 Ambassador