On the afternoon of May 31, 2006, my life changed forever. I went into premature labor at 26 weeks. After an emergency c-section, my baby girls, Chloe & Isabelle, weighing just a little over 1 pound each went right to the neonatal intensive care unit.
Both Chloe & Isabelle suffered pulmonary hemorrhages on their second day of life. Chloe’s body couldn’t handle the stress of the hemorrhage and she died that night. Isabelle survived only to face many other challenges in the NICU. She had numerous blood transfusions, heart surgery at just 2 weeks old, infections, collapsed lungs, and bleeding and swelling in the brain. She fought for 34 days before her little 1 ½ pound body couldn’t take it anymore. Our little Isabelle died on July 3rd 2006. My husband Josh and I held both of our daughters as they took their last breath.
Once you spend time in a NICU, you are never the same – families are drained, relationships are tested, and as a mother, you question, “what did I do wrong?” The NICU is a devastating place for any parent watching their innocent newborn suffer and struggle for life. This is just not how life is supposed to start. Every baby deserves a chance to have their full 9 months; every baby has the right to be born healthy, and no parent should have to endure watching their newborn die in their arms.
After all that Josh and I had been through, we knew we wanted to do everything we could to prevent this from happening to other families. In 2007 we formed Team Levine. Since then, we have raised over $175,000 for the March of Dimes. We have been the #1 Family Team in NYC since 2008, and last year was ranked #4 in the nation.
In 2009, I became a March of Dimes Mission Ambassador Speaker and for the first time spoke publically about my experience. I have given multiple live interviews on CBS TV and radio, spoke in front of over 5,000 walkers at the 2010 March for Babies walk in NYC, at NYC corporate events, helped raise over $34,000 in a direct appeal to the audience for Fund the Mission at the 2010 Transportation & Construction Luncheon, and was the Mission Speaker at the 2011 annual Beauty Ball. It took me a while to talk about my experience, but I know it’s important, and that enabled me to find the courage and strength to share my story with others.
And with this increased exposure, I have found myself taking on a new role- not only raising awareness and money, but also helping people directly on a very personal level. Women mourning the loss of a baby or struggling with premature birth are now reaching out to me for support. And, since I am now the very fortunate mother of 5-year old, Olivia and 3-year old, Julian (both born full-term and healthy), I want other women to know that there is hope, and light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
Chloe and Isabelle are our angels and will forever live in our hearts. And, while they were only with us for a very short time, the impact they had on us will last a lifetime. I, along with Josh, Olivia, and Julian will forever honor their memory by dedicating ourselves to raising money for an organization that fights for babies’ lives.
For further information, to read more about my experience, or to donate to our March of Dimes team, please visit our website, www.goteamlevine.com.
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Paulina lives on the upper east side of Manhattan with her husband of 9 1/2 years Josh, 5-year old daughter Olivia, 3-year old son Julian, and 11-year old french bulldog Jack. Paulina is the Director of Media at Ann Taylor where she has worked for 15 years.