Meet our Ambassador Family
Dear Friends,
We are humbled and honored to serve as the ambassador family for the 2019 Memphis March of Dimes Signature Chef’s Auction. For us, this is an opportunity to spread the word about March of Dimes and to testify firsthand to its invaluable, lifesaving work.
On June 13, 2015, Cameron James and Julia Ann were born prematurely at 27 weeks, 5 days. Cameron weighed 2 pounds, 9 ounces. Julia weighed 1 pound, 15 ounces. Though we did not know it at the time, we had two micro-preemies and had a long road ahead of us.
The first several days after their birth were a complete nightmare: we could barely see their faces through all of the wires and equipment; we could not hold them; we had them baptized “just in case” they did not survive; and, most horrifically, we watched doctors wheel away Cameron for an emergency surgery to repair a life-threatening, intestinal tear. Both of our babies were on oxygen support. Every day was tough, with new challenges. At times, it seemed that we would never get to take our babies home. But we learned to find hope in the small improvements Cameron and Julia made and began to understand that we could and would overcome this situation. The staff at our NICU cared for our babies like they were their own. Additionally, we learned that March of Dimes was to thank for the isolettes that held our precious children, as well as educational materials, parent journals and baby books, several parent lunches, and special NICU celebrations. They were a huge part of most of our happy moments in the NICU.
Cameron and Julia are now three years old, without any signs of their early start in life. They are testaments to the miraculous work of March of Dimes. We advocate and volunteer for its mission, fundraise for its goals, and march for babies. And we ask that you join us in our fight to ensure safe pregnancies for all mothers and healthy births for all babies.
Warmest regards,
Erin, Andrew, Cameron & Julia Arbogast