Hand to Hold is created by parents and for parents. Every one of our staff and board members has had their lives touched by either prematurity or a NICU stay – or both. So when we started Hand to Hold we didn’t just want to build a non-profit – we wanted to build a community.
Not every one will need every service we offer. But we want you to know that these resources are here for you if you do. Mostly we want you to know that you are not alone.
In this Helping Hand Highlight, Mom Maribel Farish shares the programs that have worked for her and the many ways Hand to Hold has touched her and her family’s life.
How did you hear about Hand to Hold? What were you looking for? What did you hope to find?
My son Daniel was born on March 2, 2010, at 31-½ weeks in Brownsville, Texas. Within a week of his birth, he was life-flighted to Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) where he spent three months in the NICU III. During this time, my husband, George, commuted regularly between Brownsville, Houston, and Austin. In August of that year, George started in the full-time MBA program at UT Austin while I stayed in Houston to look after Daniel and continue with follow up visits to TCH. Daniel and I finally joined George in September.
After a month of living in Austin and feeling extremely overwhelmed with Daniel’s medical needs, I reached out to a friend of my mother-in-law who told me about Hand to Hold. I immediately looked up Hand to Hold’s website and dialed Kelli’s number.
When I contacted Kelli, I did not know where to start looking for the endless list of specialists and therapists that my son needed. Even though I lived a few blocks away from Dell Children’s Hospital, I was hoping to find a parent that could tell me about his or her experiences with different doctors and therapists in the Austin area.
What was having another parent to talk to like? Did you find it helpful?
When I spoke to Kelli, I felt that we were speaking the same language. She understood how I felt. Talking to someone who has gone through a similar experience made a big difference for me. Even though we had never met or spoken before, she knew exactly how I felt as well.
Kelli directed me to a variety of helpful resources for doctors and therapists. She also matched me with another parent who had been in a similar situation. The parent that she matched me with had also moved to Austin within a few months of her daughter’s birth, and the parent found herself in a very similar situation to mine. That parent happened to be Marty Barnes.
Marty was very helpful in advising me how to navigate the inter-workings of the regional medical system. I was so impressed with the website that she designed for her daughter and mainly with how calm and at peace she seemed. She helped me believe that my family’s emotional storm would eventually pass! [Read more...]
Sometimes you have the chance to connect with another mom in a way that is so personal and so intense that you feel an instant bond. I think that’s what happened when Kelli met Victoria on our visit to El Paso, Texas last year. If I’m remembering correctly she said to me, “Victoria needs to be matched with another mom. And I want that mom to be me.” I knew at that point that I wouldn’t even try to get between them.
Jennifer Fagan had her daughter Natalie Grace at 26 weeks due to placental abruption. She and her husband Mike have two other children. In addition to serving as a Helping Hand Peer Mentor, Jenn has also been helping facilitate a NICU support group at North Austin Medical Center. She shares below what volunteering to help other parents means to her.
Although they call Washington State home, Loran and her husband were living in Japan when their baby was born. In May 2010, Terra came into the world at 24 weeks and just 286 grams (0.6 pounds). She was in the hospital in Osaka until November. In January, Terra’s mom, Loran, contacted Hand to Hold about how to get connected with other families. She was paired with Colleen, a fellow parent of a preemie, who has served as her long-distance Helping Hand peer mentor.
Six years ago, we were expecting our first child. I was healthy and certainly no stranger to exercise as a professional dancer and dance instructor. I attended all of the recommended prenatal appointments and by all indications our little girl was right on track.
My entire world changed the day my daughter, Casey, was born–April 23, 2006 just a few days shy of 37 weeks gestation. Due to a birth trauma, she suffered a severe brain injury. The brain injury led to a handful of other health complications. The first two months were spent in the NICU. Then, when we finally did get home, we spent the next six months just trying to figure things out. The past five years have been spent doing everything in our power to keep her as healthy and happy as possible. We have had some great days, and some terrifying. 
Have you ever had a friend whose circumstances are so overwhelming that you are exhausted just from imagining yourself in their shoes for a moment? Melissa Overy is one of those friends. And yet it’s difficult to say whether her determination or smile is her most admirable quality as she blazes a trail for her young boys with the weight of the world on her shoulders. “Indomitable” is the perfect adjective to describe her as one of her preemies is actually named “Dom.” At the playground you can see him and his older preemie brother, Aidan, as two happy, rambunctious boys jumping, climbing and running. But at home you will encounter his bleach baths, tubes and feeding pumps. We all agree that raising young children is challenging, but raising medically fragile children as a single mom must be completely overwhelming. But not for Melissa. She takes each day in stride and is not afraid to glance off at the the horizon often too. Each week consists of full-time employment, part-time education, single motherhood, specialists appointments, fevers that require emergency room visits, G-tube maintenance, and somehow even time as a Helping Hand volunteer at Hand to Hold. Below you’ll hear about this incredible mom in her own words.
