Bundles of blessings: Athens family represents March of Dimes

Published 6:45 am Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Brooke Burns and her husband Al know what it’s like to spend nights at the hospital, praying for their child to be well. Both of the Burns’ children were born prematurely and spent several days in the neonatal intensive care unit, which serves babies recently born.

“We, of course, were new to all of it,” Brooke told The News Courier. “Once you experience something like that, it humbles you a little bit.”

The experience with their daughter and son led the Burns family to join the efforts of March of Dimes, a national charity funding research and care for premature babies. This year the North Alabama chapter of March of Dimes named the Burns, who live and work in Athens, as its ambassador family for 2017. They are now on a quest to raise $10,000 by the keynote march on April 22.

Their story

Brooke and Al were married in 2004 and planned to have children when they felt ready. That day came in 2014, when Brooke became pregnant with Aalivia.

All was progressing well until Brooke awoke one morning to discover she was hemorrhaging. By 7:19 a.m., Aalivia was brought into the world via cesarean section.

Brooke had suffered a placental abruption, where the placenta peels away from the inner wall of the uterus before a fetus can be delivered. It typically occurs during the last trimester, according to physicians, and in this case was caused by an undiagnosed clotting condition.

Though born early, Aalivia appeared healthy and happy. Shortly afterward, though, the child began experiencing respiratory distress and was rushed to Huntsville Hospital NICU, where she would spend the next two weeks.

Aalivia is now a bubbly 2-year-old and a big sister to Cal, who was born 11 months ago.

Cal has a similar story to his big sister. He was born at 36 weeks via C-section to avoid another placental abruption. Like his sister, though, he also began experiencing respiratory distress shortly after birth.

Both received treatments discovered to help premies through research funded by the March of Dimes, Brooke said. Not only did Aalivia and Cal get help, but March of Dimes also provided counseling for Brooke and Al. She credits the organization for helping save her children’s lives.

“Because if they had not received (those treatments), our kids might not be here,” she said.

Ambassadors

As an official ambassador family for March of Dimes, the Burns are speaking to community groups and making media appearances across North Alabama. The fundraising is important, but the biggest reason for participating with March of Dimes is teaching others and educating expectant mothers on what can be done to help as many babies reach full term as possible.

A side benefit for the Burns has been all the contacts they’ve made with other families who have similar stories.

“We’ve met a ton of people along the way,” Brooke said.

Al and Brooke are encouraging people to join the April March for Babies, to be held on the campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Brooke said she hopes her Athens family can at least donate to the March of Dimes if they are unable to attend in April.

For more information, visit The Sweet dreams Team Facebook page, where Brooke and Al will keep their supporters up to date on the latest March of Dimes information. Also visit marchofdimes.org/alabama.