Recently I have been contacted by an organization with which I can identify .
I have decided to work with this organization because I too, gave birth to a Preemie.
After trying to have children for seven years, I finally reached my dream. On December 5, l985 I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.
I had experienced a rather difficult pregnancy and ended up delivering my daughter seven weeks early. I was not prepared for what the next year had to offer.
Jennifer Marie Daniels weighed in at 6 pounds and 1 ounce. To most people this would seem to be an average weight, but not for this baby. My daughter's lungs were extremely under developed and she also had reflux, which made her lose weight rapidly. She also experienced sleep apnea, which would result in CPR, sometimes several times a day.
Before the hospital would allow us to bring Jennifer home, my husband and I were required to take CPR classes and learn how to operate the apnea monitor.
The big day had finally come, Jennifer was coming home. She had spent the first three and a half weeks of her life in a Neonatal Unit, and was ready to greet the world.
Her condition required constant care twenty-four hours around the clock. Jennifer now weighed 5 pounds and 1 ounce. She became allergic to just about every type of formula on the market; her weight loss was becoming a big concern. It became increasingly difficult to clothe her, and we relied heavily on baby doll clothes. The hospital was extremely generous and helped us contact a supplier for Preemie diapers.
At fourteen months old, Jennifer was finally removed from the monitor and has lived a happy, healthy life ever since.
I would like to briefly take the time to thank the Neonatal nurses at Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria, VA. These nurses took the time to nurture and care for my daughter. The nurses also helped me through a very difficult time and assured me that Jennifer would be fine.
Neonatal Babies require a lot of care, they are frail individuals who need a lot of LOVE!
I strongly encourage everyone who reads this article to support this worthy cause. Beanies were made to bring joy to children, why not bring a little joy to these babies? I personally will be donating 15 Beanies for 15 very special babies.
Please take the time to read the following about this worthwhile cause, and send your Beanies today!
Thank you in advance,
Ms. Janie
"Beanies for Preemies" was established on April 11, 1998 after the premature
birth of the nephew of the founders Mary Stocum and Laurie Haley. Mary was
searching the Internet for a Princess or an Erin for this tiny boy. She did
not find the bears that she was looking for but she did find people that
wanted to send him a beanie...any beanie...just something to say that they
cared. ( I sent him a Bongo ). That is how the idea was born and it has
grown from there!!
We now have 6 hospitals enrolled with us and we are supplying them with
beanies on a monthly basis for all of the preemies in their Neonatal ICU's.
The beanie can be placed in the baby's isolate so it can be a "special
beanie guardian angel". The parents receive a letter explaining who donated
the beanie to their child and why. It is our hope that the parents will
thank those that donate and keep "Beanies for Preemies" in mind in the future.
That way we can do follow up stories on the babies and see how they are
doing 3 to 6 months later and even a year later. I think that the people
that donate will want to know that the babies are doing well.
The current need is 60 to 70 beanies a month per hospital. Several other
hospitals have contacted us to enroll but we can not commit until we can be
assured that we will have the beanies to cover them. We do not want one
single baby to go without a beanie!! Donations of beanies can be made in
memory of someone or in honor of someone. A special little angel placard is
attached to the beanie for that purpose.
"Beanies for Preemies" can be contacted by calling 1-888-866-5045 and
donations can be sent to
"Beanies for Preemies"
c/o Mary Stocum
200 Bowen Street
Jamestown, New York 14701
e-mail critsit@alltel.net
or people can contact me, Stacy Brown, at beanies4preemies@hotmail.com .
"Beanies for Preemies" is a nationwide charity drive that, except for beanie
donations, is solely funded by Mary Stocum, Laurie Haley and Stacy Brown.
We are in the process of becoming a non-profit organization, creating a
quarterly newsletter and designing a web page. Cindy Bungard, the lady that
runs The Good Traders List, has created a special page for "Beanies for
Preemies" on her website at www.traderlist.com . Anyone that wants to see
what we are all about can go there. Also we were given the endorsement of
www.ctoys.com .
Also a little background information on premature infants ... the average
birth weight of a preemie is 2.7 pounds and their average stay in a Neonatal
ICU is six weeks. It is a hard time for the babies and for the parents as
well. I am truly humbled by these small angels that struggle harder to live
in one day than I may ever have to struggle at anything in my life. They
deserve our respect, admiration and prayers! I believe that beanies were
meant for children and who better to receive them than the smallest of all!!
We are looking for donations of current beanies. We are not asking for hard
to finds or bears. Snort is GREAT! The tag condition of the beanie does
not matter but the beanie itself needs to be mint. Also we are asking that
people who donate include their name, address, and e-mail address on a
separate piece of paper so that we can send thank you notes to them. We
will also enter them in a monthly drawing for a special beanie prize!! This
month all that donate before July 14th will have the opportunity to win
Princess or Peace!!
The Hospitals that are enrolled with Beanies for Preemies are ... Mercy San
Juan in Carmichael, California, Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda,
Maryland, Hamot Hospital in Eerie, Pennsylvania, Buffalo Children's Hospital
in Buffalo, New York, Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and
Methodist Hospital in Plainview, Texas.
Sincerely,
Stacy Brown
"Beanies for Preemies"
President, California Chapter
