Entering the final home stretch of her pregnancy, Laurie Applekamp’s journey as the first mother to expect did not work as she had imagined.
A little over five weeks before the scheduled date, Applekamp began to experience swelling and other symptoms and visited the hospital for evaluation. Without doubting the severity of her worsening condition, the doctor informed her that she had developed pre-eclampsia.
Initially, doctors advised Applekamp to go home and rest, with the aim of avoiding premature birth as much as possible. When she returned two days later for additional testing as recommended, her blood pressure dropped and other numbers improved as well. But with great care, they decided that she needed to stay at rest until she gave birth.
They knew very little, they wouldn’t have had to wait that long for the time to come. Immediately after I got home, the water in Applekamp broke. Doctors who returned to the hospital in a hurry performed extensive examinations and concluded that the baby’s lungs were not fully developed. At that point, no one knew what to expect to move forward.
After almost seven hours of work, Tyler Jordan Ott introduced himself to the world. However, the doctor was afraid that his lungs would need to be breathed immediately, so Applecamp had to wait for the first opportunity to hold the child. The child was immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital and placed in the respiratory tract.
Eventually, they found that the lungs were fully developed and did not stay on the ventilator for long, but Tyler stayed in the NICU for 10 days as a precautionary measure due to the mother’s rapid delivery and preeclampsia. The hospital allowed Applekamp to enter the designated visit time and she was able to touch his hand through the isolet. It helped her deal with uncertain stressful times.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s 10 days, if you know it, or if it’s 4 months,” Applekamp said. “When you leave your baby in the hospital and go home, it’s the worst thing in the world to feel like you’re not going out with your baby. We’ve experienced it, but fortunately it’s only 10 people. It was. A few days later he was able to go home and we were very lucky in that regard. “
Currently in the midst of five seasons at the Seahawks and seven seasons across the NFL, Otto was born at £ 6, 11 ounces. This is a healthier weight than most babies born early. Applekamp believes he would have been close to £ 9 if he had given birth after maturity.
His mother paid close attention whenever he got sick, but in most cases Otto experienced a completely normal childhood without having to deal with growing life-changing complications. .. From an early age, he received a soccer scholarship from Harvard after being good at multiple sports, soccer, basketball lettering, and high school athletics, and eventually reached the NFL.
Almost thirty years later, Applecamp and Ott understand that they have been endowed with a great deal of wealth compared to the vast majority of families facing the abundant challenges posed by preterm birth.
A typical pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, but premature babies (also known as preterm births) are born before 37 weeks. Babies who survive preterm birth often have long-term disabilities such as cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss, chronic lung disease, and intellectual disability that affects childhood and adulthood. They often suffer from developmental delay and are more likely to experience other health complications later in life.
Nearly 15 million babies are born prematurely worldwide each year, according to Stacey Stewart, president and chief executive officer of March of Dimes, a non-profit organization that advocates for the health of moms and babies. In the United States alone, 10% of babies give birth prematurely before 37 weeks. This equates to 1 in 10 babies, and certain colored communities, such as African-American and Native American communities, are disproportionately affected.
“Our health is largely determined by our lives,” Stewart explained. “Whether we have access to safe, decent and affordable homes, access to high-paying jobs, access to an environmentally safe community, and the overall safety of our community. And access to clean water and good nutrition. All of this takes into account the ability to lead a healthy lifestyle, so some of what we call these social determinants. In suffering communities, premature births, infant mortality, and other maternal health outcomes are often high. Not positive. “
Despite some notable advantages over most countries in the world, including excellent technological resources, the United States does not perform well compared to other developed countries in terms of preterm birth. In the March of Dimes annual report published by the organization since 2008, the country received C grade in 2020 with a preterm birth rate of 10.1 percent.
The situation was particularly dire when I returned to Oklahoma, where Applekamp lived and Ott grew up. The state received an inadequate D grade from the March of Dimes with a preterm birth rate of 11.2% in the latest report, with the state surpassing 11% in 2020 for the fourth consecutive year.
What’s behind these poor numbers? As Stewart pointed out, every state has its own set of unique factors that contribute to the problem.
In Oklahoma and other provincial states with sparsely populated counties, lack of access to obstetric health care remains a major obstacle. Politics also plays a decisive role, with states having different health policies that affect access to pre- and post-pregnancy insurance coverage. For example, Oklahoma has enacted a policy to expand Medicaid’s coverage, but has not yet passed the extension of providing coverage to mothers for more than 60 days after delivery.
“We know that many women don’t have health insurance that covers them in a way that allows them to manage their health before they become pregnant,” Stewart elaborated. “They are reported during pregnancy and can be dropped after the baby comes. It’s common and complicated to know how to get care when a woman and her baby need it most. Therefore, many of these results are also actually promoted by the healthcare system. “
Applekamp and Ott have acted as advocates for improving the health and well-being of mothers and babies, addressing ongoing mother and infant health crises both in their home countries and throughout the United States. They have been working hard with the March of Dimes for nearly 20 years, using their own stories to inspire others and raise awareness of the cause.
“I think it’s easy to get involved in the March of Dimes,” says Otto. “It’s great to tell families of premature babies born three months early that just because they are premature does not mean they are happy, successful and unhealthy.”
She admitted that she didn’t know how useful the March of Dimes was during her premature birth before interviewing for work, but Applekamp joined the organization as director of the East Oklahoma division. rice field. At that time, the 10-year-old Otto became active in a variety of ways, including fundraising, water distribution to participants, and the movement of people on go-karts.
By 2007, Applecamp had been promoted to Governor of the Oklahoma branch of the March of Dimes. While playing multiple sports at Jenks High School, Otto continued to immerse himself as a student volunteer in both the organization and the local hospital.
“Since he was 10 years old, he has held so many positions to support almost everything he knows, like the March of Dimes,” Applekamp proudly states. I did. “And whether he heard the story from the beginning, we talked a lot about it, and it’s probably deeply rooted in his heart because it’s a story I talk about often. “
First nominated as a professional bowler in 2020, Otto continues to make a difference both inside and outside the field for the reasons he truly cherishes.
After bouncing with four teams in three years to start his career, Ott finally found a Seahawks long snapper in the Pacific Northwest, winning a three-year contract extension in 2019 and 2020. I made a professional bowl. As a premier who reached the maximized NFL on his platform, he launched the Points For Preemies initiative in 2018, evolving from volunteer to philanthropist.
Coming from what Otto called the “Humble Beginning”, the Preemies point takes place between November and December, which coincides with Preterm Birth Month. For each additional point and field goal Seahawks earns, Ott personally donates $ 100 to the March of Dimes. We also aim to secure matches from sponsors.
“We can talk weekly about raising money for the March of Dimes for this many kicks in this game. We look forward to continuing to use it next week. This is important. Cause. “Otto said.” Obviously for us, it’s very important near our hearts, so level the playground for all mothers and babies and give every baby a chance to fight. How can we continue to raise awareness to give and give all babies an equal chance ?? “
To date, the program is in its fourth year, and Ott has raised nearly $ 50,000, in the process of appearing as the face of the March of Dimes. In the future, we hope to continue expanding our initiative by adding sponsors and finding ways for fans to get involved, even if they have a one-off pledge.
Now a veteran NFL veteran, Otto has already demonstrated that he can play at the highest levels of his sport. Achieving that alone, his amazing journey provides hope for others born early to follow in his footsteps and lead a very successful life.
But in the end, what happens on the football field is inferior compared to changing the story that revolves around premature birth, and Otto knows there’s a lot left to do. Standing at the top of his profession gave him the opportunity to raise awareness of disturbing public health trends, and he contributed until women and babies enjoyed consistently healthy results. I’m not satisfied.
Otto has excellent allies, including a pair of support organizations and mothers, and does not stop fighting to correct these health inequality and achieve legal and sustainable progress. Until the last snap.
Interested in joining the March of Dimes?Donations to support research and its programs for moms and babies can be made by visiting MarchOfDimes.org.. Anyone who wants to reach out to enact the necessary policy changes #BlanketChange A campaign to ensure that moms and babies receive proper health care and support. The schedule for upcoming events, including the National “March For Babies” fundraiser, is as follows: Access here..
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