November is Prematurity Awareness Month

Hi Friends,

I don't know if any of you Manhattan people know the Larkins and little Sierra's story, but this was a message posted on Sierra's Caring Bridge site about November being Prematurity Awareness Month. Even though I have not been able to connect with Stacey (mom) personally yet, I echo her efforts in supporting the March of Dimes efforts. I hadn't known what March of Dimes did until we had Ellie. Please sign the petition for Preemies on the March of Dimes Web site. This is especially special since this is the month that we brought our Ellie home. Please go to the link at the bottom of Stacey's message.

Love, Team Gramkow

Dear Friends & Family,

Laura Lewis with the March of Dimes in Kansas City wrote to me recently and ask me to write a letter to the editor here in Manhattan to draw attention to November being Prematurity Awareness Month. The Mercury called and said it would run today. If you have the time to visit the March of Dime website, your signature to the petition for preemies would make a difference!

Dear Letter to the Editor:

I’m writing as a mom, and a concerned citizen, to urge all Manhattan Mercury readers to sign the Petition for Preemies on the March of Dimes web site. This past year our 2^nd daughter, Sierra , was born at only 24.6 weeks. She weighed only 1.97 oz. and was 13 inches long. She spent 91 days in Stormont-Vail’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Her journey is an incredible one and our family has been very blessed by the phenomenal care our daughter received in the NICU at Stormont. By looking at her today one would never realize the hurdles she had to overcome to fight to survive.

The March of Dimes pays a crucial role in funding research to find ways to help prevent premature births. In the U. S. today, one in eight babies is born prematurely and millions of children face serious health challenges or have trouble learning in school because they were born too soon. More newborns die from premature birth than any other cause. It is my hope through our families experience to spread awareness of the importance of finding ways to move forward in helping moms have healthy, full-term babies.

Please join our family and all families across Kansas and America this November during Prematurity Awareness Month by visiting the March of Dimes web site to sign the Petition for Preemies. By signing the Petition for Preemie at marchofdimes.com/petition you will help us make progress in preventing premature births. The number of people who sign can really make a difference!

Mike & Stacey Larkin

Parents of Mikayla & Sierra Larkin

Manhattan, KS