 |
|
|
|
| |
2001 and 2002 National Ambassador Justin Lamar Washington
Justin Lamar Washington is currently serving an unprecedented second year as the March of Dimes National Ambassador. Justin is a warm, outgoing, and friendly seven-year-old who loves to swim, play with his friends, and ride his bike near his Miami, Fla., home. Those who meet Justin realize right away that he is special, but they don't know the full story. In his short lifetime, Justin has already beaten odds stacked higher than a seven-year-old can reach.
After a number of miscarriages, Justin's parents, Kraig and Dorenda Washington, were happy to discover in 1994 that they were again expecting. Their baby was due in March of the following year. Dorenda followed her physician's instructions, having weekly checkups, taking prenatal vitamins and restricting physical activity.
Early in her fifth month of pregnancy, Dorenda began having contractions while visiting her parents in Tennessee and was rushed to Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. Doctors there confirmed she was in premature labor and worked to prolong her pregnancy to save the baby's life. The effort was only temporarily successful. Justin was born on November 13, 1994—four months premature weighing 1 pound, 8 1/2 ounces. He was immediately transferred to Centennial's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where he would remain under constant care for the next four months.
Because his lungs were severely underdeveloped, Justin was placed on a ventilator to help him breathe and given surfactant therapy. Surfactant is a substance the body produces to help re-inflate the lungs after each breath. Premature babies are often not able to produce it in sufficient quantity to enable their lungs to function properly. Treatment by giving surfactant through the windpipe was developed in part by research funded by the March of Dimes.
Justin underwent intestinal, hernia and laser eye surgery. He was treated for hyperbilirubinemia, which results from a temporary liver malfunction due to prematurity. He also suffered from asthma during his first year.
Justin was finally released from the hospital in March 1995 and taken by medical helicopter to Miami and home to a nursery with enough equipment to resemble a NICU. He grew stronger and healthier with each passing day until the equipment was no longer needed.
Today, Justin is a healthy little boy who seems to have no residual effects from his ordeal. As the March of Dimes National Ambassador Family, Justin and his parents spent 2001 sharing their story with volunteers, community organizations, celebrities, business leaders, media and government officials nationwide. Among the year's highlights was a visit with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office of the White House. In 2002, the Washington family will continue their travels in an effort to increase public awareness of the March of Dimes mission of saving babies, like Justin.
Medical Overview
Justin survived through a number of measures either supported directly by the March of Dimes or in areas of care that it has supported:
- Surfactant for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)
- Justin had a diagnostic TORCH (toxoplasmosis, other, rubella, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex) work-up to check for various congenital infections. The March of Dimes has supported research on all of these.
- He had hyperbilirubinemia due to failure of his immature liver to dispose of waste-products from routine breakdown of red blood cells. The March of Dimes has supported hyperbilirubinemia therapies, including funding development of a therapy using tin-heme complexes, to reverse the condition, whether due to preterm birth or genetic disorders of bilirubin disposal.
- Justin suffered anemia of prematurity. The March of Dimes has supported a research project on the use of EPO (erythropoietin) to correct it.
- He also needed intravenous feeding (parenteral hyperalimentation) for 48 days, apparently due to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). The March of Dimes supported two research projects on IV nutrition for premature newborns, one of which was investigation of whether a particular amino acid (taurine) must be included in IV formulations for premature babies, as they are not able to manufacture it on their own, like term babies can.
Other areas where ongoing March of Dimes research and programs are addressing the problems that endanger babies like Justin include:
- Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)
Justin had it as a consequence of RDS and/or the necessary treatments; the March of Dimes has funded recent research into its causes and how it might be prevented.
- Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC): the March of Dimes has recently funded research on this often life-threatening intestinal disease associated with preterm birth.
- March of Dimes PERI (Perinatal Epidemiology Research Initiative) grants are looking broadly at biological and environmental factors that may contribute to preterm birth, as a basis for prevention.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last year 3 million people gave their time, talent and funds to help save babies? You can too...
 |
|
|
|
Articles for parents, news, personal stories and more!
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Donating is easy online, by phone or mail / fax.
|
|
|
