Marching for a better future

By JOSH NEWTON

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — Two-year-old Katie Jo Taylor is like many others her age: happy and, at the right moment, thrilled to smile for the camera. Her curly, red hair goes hand-in-hand with her fiery energy.

But Katie Jo started out different than most others babies, as she was born three months premature. It was through this experience her parents, Jason and Jennifer Taylor, of Tahlequah, along with their 5-year-old daughter Madison, and friends and family, learned of technology that was used to save Katie – a result of research by the March of Dimes.

“She was due on Valentine’s Day in 2006, but instead, she arrived five days after Thanksgiving on Nov. 29, 2005,” said Jennifer.

Katie Jo weighed 2 pounds, 1.7 ounces, and was only 14 inches long, just a few inches more than an unsharpened No. 2 pencil.

“She spent more time on a ventilator than off. We spent endless hours praying, crying, and driving to and from Tulsa during that time.”

Katie spent 74 days in the hospital, and at only 6 days old, had open-heart surgery. She was given multiple blood transfusions, x-rays and ultrasounds on a daily basis. She also had to fight off two rounds of pneumonia and a small intestinal condition that caused her intestines to stop functioning properly.

“I have no doubt in my mind she wouldn’t have made it, had it not been for the March of Dimes,” said Jennifer.

A substitute teacher at Tahlequah Middle School, where Jennifer works as a nurse, heard Katie Jo’s story. The woman is active in the March of Dimes, and contacted a local office to tell the Taylors’ story. Jennifer said the organization contacted them and asked the family to be an ambassador family for northeast Oklahoma.

Now, Katie Jo’s picture is being distributed on brochures and posters for the organization. At age 2, she may not fully understand the importance her story will have on future babies. (Her older sister, Madison, however, is “really excited” her baby sister is helping March of Dimes.”

“There are 22 babies [ambassadors] in the whole state,” said Jennifer. “She’s on the brochures, and they’re going to be talking about her on the Muskogee radio station, talking about the upcoming March for Babies Walk.”

There’s also a Web site for Team Taylor Katie-Did, where the public can read Katie’s story and donate to the team’s goal of raising $2,500 for the March.

“We’re going to participate in the walk May 17 in Muskogee [at the Muskogee Civic Center], and we’re trying to obtain sponsorship and donations for the March of Dimes,” said Jennifer.

The family will attend kick-off parties to tell Katie’s story so local companies that want to donate can put a face with a name.

“It’s the first time, from what we have learned, a child from Tahlequah has been chosen as an ambassador,” said Jennifer.

The March of Dimes mission is to “improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality,” according to the official Web site, www.marchofdimes.com. “

March for Babies, formerly known as WalkAmerica, supports research and programs to help prevent or treat premature birth. Since the first walk in 1970, according to the site, over $1 billion has been raised.

“These advances and developments provide grants for neonatal intensive care units and nurses,” said Jennifer.

“Katie is now 2 years old, and you would never be able to tell any of these things occurred. She is a thriving, full-of-life red-head,” said Jennifer. “She has completely caught up, and at this time does not show any type of developmental delay which is commonly associated with premature infants.”

The Taylor family is thrilled about representing the northeast section of Oklahoma through the upcoming drive. Tahlequah Middle School and Sequoyah Elementary have already held bank drives, and Greenwood Elementary will host a drive following spring break, according to Jennifer.

“If you are interested or know of someone who would like to join our team or give a donation, please let me know!”

The rewards, she says, will be a future of happy, thriving children just like Katie Jo.

“We feel like, because of March of Dimes, our baby is here,” said Jennifer. “Please, help us to save babies just like our Katie Jo! This is something we can do to give back.”

Get involved

To support the northeastern Oklahoma March for Dimes ambassador, Team Taylor Katie-Did, log on to www.marchforbabies.org/KatieJoJo; or make checks payable to March of Dimes, and send to: Jennifer Taylor, P.O. Box 2004, Tahlequah, Okla., 74465.

Team Taylor Katie-Did will be participating in the March for Babies Walk on Saturday, May 17, at 10 a.m. at the Muskogee Civic Center, 425 Boston in Muskogee.

To learn more about the March of Dimes, log on to www.marchofdimes.com.