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Breanna Allen, a Special Education Teacher at Jefferson Elementary School in Warrenville, is grateful for the March of Dimes as she has a personal story to tell about her family. Read her story below.

On January 17, 2012, I went in for a routine doctor’s appointment at 32 weeks pregnant. I was retaining a lot of fluid, so my doctor decided I had to stop working and be put-on full-time bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy. A week later, I went back for a follow-up appointment and was told the baby was not moving as much as they would like and that I was very sick. I was instructed to go home, pack my bags, and wait for a phone call to let us know when to be at the hospital the next day. My husband and I were extremely scared as we had already lost one baby the year before. 

At 8:45 p.m. that evening, I received a phone call from an ER doctor who said he just kept walking by my file and something told him to open it up. When he reviewed my file, he realized that my body was shutting down based on the blood count. He told me to stop what I was doing and get to the ER immediately. My husband and I dropped everything and headed in. 

I don’t remember much after that, but I do remember feeling like I was going to pass out before we got into the hospital. By the time I was prepared for surgery, my blood pressure was elevated to 215/145 and the baby was struggling. I was rushed into surgery where my son Malachi was born through emergency c-section, weighing just 4 pounds. 

Baby Malachi was placed in the NICU and required a great deal of help with his breathing. He was on CPAP for several weeks to assist him. While in the hospital, we had another scare when the doctors thought they saw a hole in my son’s heart. Thankfully, they determined later it was a false alarm, and what they saw was actually just a shadow. 

When Malachi was 11 months old he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy due to not getting enough oxygen during the emergency c-section. 

Although his birth was not a typical one, thanks to the amazing medical staff and the March of Dimes, Malachi is now a wild, active 10-year-old boy who loves life and everyone around him! He is still attending therapy, receiving care through the Children’s Hospital of Augusta, and doing well.

Today the Allen family is doing well, and continues to support the critical work being done by the March of Dimes to help save babies. 

Brook Byers, the Parent Involvement Coordinator at Cyril B. Busbee Elementary School in Wagener, is grateful for the March of Dimes as she has a personal story to tell about her family.

In January of 2003 Ms. Byers gave birth to twin girls, Jaiden and Skylar, who were born premature at just 25 weeks. The babies weighed in at 1 lb. 11 oz and 1 lb. 13 oz and stayed in the NICU for more than three months. Skylar required heart surgery at just 9 days old which was overwhelming and scary for her mom. Following that surgery just two months later Ms. Byers received a call from the hospital with heartbreaking news that Jaiden wouldn’t make it through the night. After trying 3 different ventilators, tiny baby Jaiden was put on an oscillator to help her survive. Ms. Byers was so scared, wondering if her babies would ever get to come home.

After 108 and 110 days in the NICU, Ms. Byers was able to bring her precious preemies home on Mother’s Day weekend of 2003! Ms. Byers credits research funded by the March of Dimes for her babies’ survival. Today, Jaiden and Skylar are doing well, and graduated from Silver Bluff High School in 2021!

Brook Byers, the Parent Involvement Coordinator at Cyril B. Busbee Elementary School, shares her success story, and is excited to lead the March of Dimes campaign for the Busbee Bulldogs.