Rylee's Story

On her third day of life, the doctor felt that she was having severe lung complications and that we needed to transfer her to the NICU at The Med. They had a different type of ventilator that would be gentler on her lungs than a regular one. Rylee was transported by ambulance and all set up on this new ventilator. We never expected any of this to happen to our sweet little girl. We scrubbed into the sterile environment numerous times through the day and night and using sterile foam each time before we touched her. She had blood transfusions, many tests, x-rays and connected to all sorts of wires and machines. We hung on every moment while we waited for the results on the next tests to see if there were signs of improvements.

Sadly, after being on life support for 8 days, Rylee became an angel in heaven. There was so much happening from the very beginning that we didn’t understand or that just overwhelmed us. The March of Dimes was there to help us. There was printed material for us to read to find out terminology as well as what happens with preemies while in the NICU. It was a whole support system that helped us through while Rylee was here.

On April 29th, 2010, we were blessed with the full-term birth of our second daughter, Kayden Rylee Vinson.  It was a long pregnancy of home rest and weekly injections to prevent premature birth.  It was worth every moment as our miracle baby was born 7 lbs 2 oz and was 19 ½ inches long.  Her safe arrival was due to the research and medical advances of the March of Dimes with the help of her older sister as her guardian angel. 

We are so very thankful for the healthy birth of Kayden and continue to cherish each milestone she reaches. The March of Dimes continues to be there for us with family nights, parent education meetings, etc. To honor Rylee’s memory, celebrate Kayden’s safe arrival and to repay the kindness we have received, we raise as many donations as possible to give back to the March of Dimes.  It is our hope that they are able to continue to help families in our situation, to find a way to prevent prematurity and that “one day, all babies will be born healthy”.