CMN MIRACLE CHILD: Dallas County parents say daughter’s a “miracle baby” after premature birth

DALLAS COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) - Jennifer was told she’d never be able to have children. Then, Charlotte came along.

“I woke him up, it was like 5 o’clock in the morning when I took the test and I can’t even remember why, I wasn’t feeling sick or anything like that, I just had this gut feeling to take a test and I did,” said Jennifer. “I told him and he told me to take another one, and another one, and we took like four of them just to be sure.”

At 24 weeks, things took a turn. “When I got to the emergency room, they took my blood pressure and it was outrageously high, over 200,” she said. There was also preeclampsia and an issue with the placenta. Doctors knew they had to deliver.

“The night I gave birth to her was probably the most horrifying night of my life,” said Jennifer. “I expected her to be still born, but she came out kicking and screaming.”

Jennifer and her husband Jeremy say Charlotte is their miracle baby.

“She actually smiled a bit today, she made 2 pounds today, she finally weighs 2 pounds,” explained Jennifer. “I guess something normal parents take for granted is having your baby in a swaddle, here we are Charlotte is almost 2 months old and we were just able to swaddle her today.”

While they’re encouraged by Charlotte’s progress, they also know there’s a long road ahead for the entire family. “She still needs to learn how to eat, she still needs to learn how to breath on her own,” said Jennifer. She also said Charlotte will have chronic lung issues for the rest of her life.

With no family nearby since the Holmes’ just moved to Missouri from New Jersey for Jeremy’s work, a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, they say Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals was the support they needed.

“You never think something like this would happen until it happens to you,” said Jennifer. “An organization like CMN has been God-send for us because there are so many little things we don’t have to worry about now, we can just focus on Charlotte.”

Miracle Week is celebrated during the first week of December. Those looking to donate can call 1-800-369-8169 or follow the link attached with this story to donate online.

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