88 | Joy & Sorrow Can Occupy the Same Space - Dani Kilgore
This is a story that includes loss - In memory of William Jr.
Dani describes her story as a faith journey to motherhood - a journey that has included pain, joy but also lots of hope. In 2010, a year into their marriage Dani and her husband found out they were pregnant. Yet early into this pregnancy, they would experience a miscarriage. Processing through that, they decided to wait before trying again, and three years later, Dani was pregnant. They found out it was a boy and knew they wanted to name him William Jr. after her husband.
At 20 weeks, Dani began having spotting and increased bleeding. She spoke with her doctor, they did testing, but no cause for the bleeding was found. Yet at 23 weeks, Dani was having severe headaches, and being someone who was very in tuned with their body, Dani knew something was wrong. Staying persistent with her doctors, they discovered she had preeclampsia and would need to stay at the hospital until she reached full term. But at 28 weeks, September 2013, her placenta would stop working, and William Jr. was born. But William's time earthside would be short, and after a hard fight, he would pass that November.
The passing of their son was extremely difficult for them. Working through their grief, they leaned into their family, friends, and support through therapy. During this time, they were connected with the March of Dimes. For Dani, March of Dimes provider her with the hope she needed. Connecting with other families with the same shared experience allowed them all to know they were not navigating this alone. Participating in the March of Dimes walk allows her and her husband to honor their son and the children they never met.
This support and hope carried them through another miscarriage in 2014 and then becoming pregnant with their daughter Harper in 2015. Understanding her health history, Dani and her husband decided with their care team to have a surgical birth with Harper at 35 weeks. As a result of being born premature, she was diagnosed with Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) - where audio fibers in her ear either didn't develop or did and died. Because of that, she does wear bilateral hearing aids. But as Dani described beyond that, "she is doing well" and a "sign that miracles can happen!"
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March of Dimes | education, research, support & advocacy for moms and babies
March of Dimes, the leading nonprofit fighting for the health of all moms and babies, is observing National Birth Defects Prevention Month in January 2021. This is an annual event in which March of Dimes partners with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to generate awareness among women of childbearing age and families about actions they can take to help prevent birth defects. Join the conversation about National Birth Defects Prevention Month by following hashtag #Best4YouBest4Baby on social media and by visiting March of Dimes at marchofdimes.org/BSiC.