Inland Empire Community Comes Together for Preemie Support

MORENO VALLEY >> It was Mother’s Day 2012. Leena and Brielle Martin were born prematurely at only 25 weeks. Each weighed barely over a pound. From the beginning, parents Nick and Jessica were told to expect the worst, but after a long stay in the NICU that included multiple surgical procedures like nitric oxide therapy, laser eye surgery, nissen fundoplication and gastronomy tube placement, the girls ended their 156-day stay at Kaiser Fontana and were finally able to come home. May 7 at Rancho Jurupa Park, more than 3,000 people came to celebrate and commemorate the Martins and other families that have been affected by premature births at the 2016 Inland Empire March for Babies, hosted by the March of Dimes. “To be here and feel the sense of community and family, I think it’s nice, outside of what they’re representing, just to bring people together in such a loving and fun environment,” Jessica said. March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health, devoted to improving the lives of the nearly 4 million babies born yearly in the United States through research, education, support, and advocacy. March of Dimes funded 26 research grants totaling $6 million in 2015 to institutions in California, including UC Riverside, and $4 million to the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Stanford University, which is the first of five national trans-disciplinary research centers. The goal of events like March for Babies is to keep the funding for this research going. According to Doug Key, regional director for American Medical Response Riverside County and outgoing chair of the Inland Empire March for Babies, this year was a record year with more than $550,000 raised in the community. “It’s all about making certain that no family has to go through this ever again,” Key said. The annual event has grown more and more over the years. What was once a 2,000-person event at Riverside City College has grown to a 5k walk around Rancho Jurupa Park, with booths from community sponsors like Parkview Community Hospital, FedEx and Summer Infant providing educational opportunities for families to learn about and fun activities for children to do while at the event. Chris Huyett, executive director for March of Dimes, said the reason she first got involved with the March for Babies 12 years ago was because her son was born just under two pounds. “If communities hadn’t been holding events like this for so long before I knew about March of Dimes, my son wouldn’t be the healthy 11-year-old that he is today,” she said. Renee Colarossi, regional director for AMR San Bernardino County and incoming chair for the Inland Empire March for Babies, said "Huyett’s team is a great organization and put together a great time for the community." “The March of Dimes team is just fabulous,” Colarossi said. “We’ve got to interact with some of the ambassador families and they’re just heartwarming stories.” The stories do not just come from those in the community participating, but also those who run the event, like Huyett. Ricki Hill, development manager for March of Dimes, has been involved for three years and said the reason she first got started was because of the personal experience of having a premature infant and losing two babies. “It gave me a way to give back to something that was close to me,” she said. According to Key, the main purpose of the March for Babies, which happens twice a year, once in Riverside County and once in San Bernardino County, is to raise awareness for the prevalence of prematurity in babies and the need for preventative measures to be researched and explored. “It’s all about awareness…” he said. “Everyone loves it. It’s an opportunity especially for people who have had a premature infant to come hang with other people that have similar experiences. They love to talk about and show off their healthy little baby after they’ve gone through those trying times. You can’t ask for a better event.” Jessica said that Leena and Brielle are doing great, despite re-hospitalizations and long-term effects they will have. Both girls will be starting preschool in the new year. “March of Dimes did help save our girls, so for us, we tried to do extra and raise more money and put it out there and tried to get more people involved so hopefully they’ll stick around for years to come,” she said. To find out how you can get involved, check out www.marchofdimes.org. List of sponsors: American Medical Response (signature sponsor) Riverside Community Hospital Rivcomm Inc. Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center Regional Park and Open-Space District for Riverside County FedEx Riverside University Health System DPR Construction Skanska Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Boulder Associates Summer Infant (sponsored raffle)