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Today all around the world we celebrate Prematurity Awareness Day. A day when we raise awareness for those born too soon. It's a day to honor the fight of some of the world's tiniest.  For the parents that have sat on the sidelines and fought for their little one.  To celebrate the tiniest Fighters. As well as to honor those little ones who never made it home.

You see 34 years ago today a very young couple sat the doctor's office. They were given the news every parent fears. There was something wrong with the daughter they were carrying and that she was very very sick. They were told that continue in the pregnancy will cause distress on the mother and the daughter and that are only option was to deliver. They were scared. They were in the military at a base far away from home with no family and friends and they were just given the worst news they could imagine. A few short hours later their daughter entered the world and she was in fact very sick. This little girl would need multiple blood transfusions her jaundice level was so high they were worried about brain damage. The doctors prepared them for the worst. The young couple was so worried about their young daughter's health that they didn't even pick out a name. So the NICU nurses started calling her Sammy Jo. After weeks of treatments, IVs, blood transfusions, and a whole lot of time under bilirubin light this little girl finally came home. Her parents decided to name her Samantha after the name the NICU nurses gave her.

The story above is my parents story. The little girl is me. I never imagined that the story my parents told me growing up would prepare me from my own fight with my own children. I grew up to have three premature babies myself. My son Jadon was born at 34 weeks, our daughter Trinity was born and passed after she was born at 25 weeks, in our son Jaxson was born at 32 weeks.

Prematurity Awareness Day, kind of fitting when your born on a day that celebrate prematurity awareness when your whole life from day one has revolved around it. From my early arrival, to the arrival of my kids, to the volunteer work I do today with the March of Dimes.

Today I will celebrate my birthday by wearing purple.  TO honor my parents fight for me, to honor my boys fight, to remember my daughter, and to help raise awareness for all those born premature.