October 15, 1977
10:08pm
Virginia Ruth Parish (Beard) was born
10:28pm (after breaking my bag of waters)
Elizabeth Ann(e) Parish (Bruffey) was born
November 4, 1977
Virginia went home from the hospital after 21 days in the NICU of Houston's Memorial Hermann Hospital
11.04.1977
Virginia on left, Elizabeth on right
Later that month, after over a month in the same NICU, I finally went home.
December 8, 1977
We were due...
November 17, 2012
Today is World Prematurity Day... and also my Mother's Birthday - rather fitting I think!
My twin sister, Dr. Virginia Parish Beard, and I were preemies way back in 1977, when NICUs being standard was pretty new. We were born almost 2 months early and my sister was in the NICU at Houston's amazing Memorial Hermann hospital for 2 weeks, and I for a month, coming home just in time for Thanksgiving. I am thankful to organizations like the March of Dimes and those scientists and doctors and donors who make the lives of little ones born so early possible and full of health! I was a heart patient, had jaundice, underdeveloped lungs, and on many medicines that my parents were told might cause blindness, deafness, delays, etc. I've had 20/20 vision until recently (just got my first reading glasses, haha!) and a life of health, joy, marriage, education, parenthood... and knowing God through the grace of Jesus. There was a medicine that had only been used on babies with my heart condition once and the doctors had been wanting to test using it twice to see if it would save my life... my parents agreed to the trial knowing that, without that, there were little options for my heart... it worked! And I lived. And this was written in some medical journal and was my 15 minutes of fame, smile!
Thank you to those, such as my amazing Aunt Linda (Annie) who serve preemies and their families! To the incredible staff at Houston's Hermann hospital that I've ALWAYS admired having heard my birth and life story many times over the years.
And Happy Birthday to my Mama who watched her firstborn daughters start their life so early and has been so committed to us with love and devotion ever since!
As I look at the date, November 4, 1977, when my sister went home from the hospital and think, just 33 years and 1 day later my son would be born... incredible what God does through medicine and technology!
November 17, 1953
My Mama was born and blessed this earth as a strong woman of love and commitment to family. I think it so perfect that World Prematurity Day is on her birthday as a woman who, when she became a Mama, faced the heartache of not one, but TWO precious babies who were born too early and lives hung in the balance and was blessed by the resources of doctors, nurses, and the NICU!
For more information, check out these resources:
Facebook World Preamturity Day:
March of Dimes:
Information on World Prematurity Day:
~ Mama Bruffey ~
Daughter of God, Wife of One, Mother of Two
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