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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Not Merely Shameless Self-Promotion...

I did the interview for this piece by Laurie Tarkan that appeared today in the New York Times because the mainstream media is so much more comfortable talking about miracle babies when they do pieces on micropreemie parenting than they are discussing the realities that we and our kids face.

The article's author really 'got it' and I salute the extent to which she did not sugarcoat our experiences. None of what we went through back in the NICU or go through after our kids are home detracts one iota from the love we feel for our children, but it does change who we are as parents. Having the New York Times profile this is a very good thing and hopefully there will be more stories like this one.

1 comment:

Anne said...

You are more than entitled to shameless self-promotion for your hand in the article. It was one of the rare honest pieces written on prematurity, the gift that keeps on giving.

I am so tired of the endless "miracle" stories of micropreemies and their parents who purportedly walked away unscathed from life in the NICU.

You and I, and many others on the Cruise Ship Extreme Prematurity, know what it feels like to wake up for days, weeks and months wondering if this is the day the final shoe drops. Parents like you can can understand how I could be reduced to tears in a restaurant last week because after three long yers of feeding therapy my daughter uttered the words "more cheese."

Bravo to you for taking part in the article!