Walking for You

As we prepare to walk tomorrow in the March of Dimes annual March for Babies, I can't help but reflect on the reasons we walk, and the importance of raising money to help this amazing cause.  Tomorrow, I will be surrounded by people who get it.  Most of them have a direct, personal tie to the March of Dimes because they either know someone whose baby was in the NICU because of prematurity, know someone whose child was born with a birth defect, or know someone, like me, who experienced, along with these others factors, infant mortality.   Regardless of our stories, we will all be there for a common cause - raising awareness and funds to help save the lives of babies. Babies, all babies - regardless of race, creed, economic status and ability - all deserve to be born as healthy as possible, and the March of Dimes, through their continuing efforts, continues to strive for that. 

Tomorrow, as I do every day,  I will remember Cain's fight, his battle, and pray that in the future, birth defects such as his will not be associated with a high infant mortality rate.  That there will be options for these little ones with a grim diagnosis. That one day, no parent will have to experience the pain and loss of their infant.  Is it a lofty goal? Yes. Does that mean it's unattainable? No.   We have to continue to press on, to fight for care and research to ensure these precious babies arrive in the best possible health.  This cause may not be personal to you now, but we don't know what our future holds.  One day it could be your grandchildren, your niece or nephew, your friend's baby, and yes, even your own, that benefit from the work of the March of Dimes. 

If you have given to our walk, I want to say thank you from a very special place in my heart, a place that holds memories of my son, a place where he lives, always. I know he thanks you too. And I know he'll be looking down on us tomorrow, proud that we are supporting this cause. I only wish he could be there with us. I wish his story could have ended differently. It didn't, and so we walk, and will continue to walk for years to come. Until awareness is raised, until cures are found, until babies go home healthy to parents who have waited so long to hold them.

Yes, sweet boy, we will be walking for you, and wishing you were there with us. But you will be. In spirit and in our hearts. Always, always in our hearts.