CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Members of a Charlotte family are using their experience getting through the most frightening time in their lives to help other families facing the same thing.
Jeff and Brooke Wilhoite said the premature birth of a child is something parents are almost never prepared for.
Eyewitness News anchor Stephanie Maxwell said one local organization is helping them through it.
“She's a little character,” the father of Logan, 3, said. “Full of energy and life just like most children are, going on 4 years old.”
They said things could have been much different for their Logan, who weighed 2 pounds 8 ounces when he was born three months premature and spent 99 days in the neonatal intensive care unit.
“I'm not sure that anything quite prepares you for walking in there,” Brooke said. “It's not what you expect to see when you go into the nursery.”
Logan was on breathing support and needed two blood transfusions, but remarkably, she has no health problems now.
The family credits the March of Dimes for its support and solid information to help them through a confusing time.
The Wilhoites are now serving as the Charlotte March of Dimes Ambassador Family for this month's March for Babies fundraiser. Their story will help to raise money for other families of preemies and babies with birth defects.
"When you meet a family like Brooke and Jeff and Logan, they're going to give you the actual face of what really happened in the hospital," Kelly Glantz, March of Dimes Greater Charlotte executive director, said.
The Wilhoites said they know they're fortunate their journey has turned out to be a positive one.
"To look at her now and to see her running and jumping and laughing, to be this little ball of light, let's people know that the money you contribute to the cause really does make a difference," Brooke said.
LINK: March for Babies
The Charlotte March for Babies event is coming up on May 14 at Marshall Park.
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