by Rosie | Oct 13, 2018 | Birthdays
I gave birth to Kaleb, but he birthed me into God’s purpose. Did you ever ask yourself what would my life look like if it turned out a different way? Many times I asked myself that question as my son was fighting for his life with a 5% chance of survival at birth. Kaleb was born prematurely 13 weeks early, weighing 1lb 10 oz, 12 inches long and fitting in the palm of my hand. That is not a story that you wish to hear from anyone. But day in and day out 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely. Some for health reasons on the part of the mother, the baby’s health, and some it is unknown. We struggle as parents wondering what we did wrong, how could we have avoided delivering early until we are blaming ourselves for it. Today I am here to tell you as a surviving mother of a premature baby that premature birth happens, it is not prejudiced. Premature birth affects all races, socioeconomic status, ages, and women all over the world.
When my son was born, I wanted to hide and not talk to anyone, but a wise woman pulled me out of my isolation and had me sharing my story before I could blink. She was the vehicle to make me see premature birth in a different light; a light that would make me care about others even though I was hurting. She encouraged me to go on and live with my son because he was a miracle.
Today he is a happy little boy. He is 9 years old and just full of life. The road here was not easy, but the journey to going home from the NICU was priceless. Join me as we wish our happy little miracle, Kaleb, a Happy Birthday!
In the words of director Andrew Stanton, “make me care.” By saying this to you, it is simple, a great story will make you care. Here at The Gift of Life, we have many stories, some that will make you laugh, some that will make you cry, and some that will make you feel good that you listened to it. These stories are what bring donations, volunteers, and sponsors because every day it is something new and your help can make a difference!
Contact us today to hear someone’s story and get involved with The Gift of Life
by admin | Feb 27, 2018 | Birthdays, Inspiration, Parenting, Preemie Stories
A Happy Birthday Poem
Happy Birthday Marcus Moore
I wish you birthday fun galore
That stays with you throughout the year
Blessing those you love so dear
It’s not easy getting older, unless you count it wisdom
Unless it makes you bolder. To stop you, what is there?
Celebrate each day of life you share with your son and wife
You bring great value to the world, touching others through The Gift of Life
Happy Birthday Marcus Moore
Don’t count this day as getting older
regardless what they may have told you
(…See the troubles you’ve gone over?!)
Preemie families are glad to know that someone like you stands with them
That they have someone on their side who’s been through what they’re living
They look upon their child so small and hope for a miracle
When you testify about your son, beating the odds is seen as realer
Happy Birthday Marcus Moore
Receive the great things in store
See many more decades of life,
You and your wife
I hope you liked my little poem (though I sometimes am off rhythm)
When someone asks about The Gift of Life, I’m glad to say, “I’m with them”
Giving love to preemie families only makes you richer
May countless others hear your story and give to further the mission.
by Elisa | Dec 22, 2017 | Birthdays, Holidays, Rosie Moore
What can you say about a person that took a traumatic experience and transformed it into a blessing that continues to touch hundreds of lives? When we look at ourselves, our perceived shortcomings and limitations, and then consider the great people we know, it’s a humbling experience.
If you don’t know, Rosie Moore is a remarkable woman. We’ve come to think of her more like the superhero she dresses up as each year during the Super Run than as an ‘everyday’ person. She may never confess it, but she has moved her entire life from average to extraordinary. She’d never confess it because instead she’ll give all the glory to the God she serves – and that’s just another instance of her greatness.
Since starting The Gift of Life, Rosie has become a well-published author, local celebrity, and even transformed her own physical fitness to earn the crown of Mrs. Windermere International. Through her annual galas, 5k runs, and other events, she has brought together Orlando’s business community, local community, and preemie community. All of this, and Rosie’s story has still just begun.
Happy Birthday Rosie! We love you. You’re our mentor, leader, and a great inspiration.
This year is at it’s close and we’re now eagerly awaiting what 2018 will bring. Looking back on 2017 we can see the achievements and the challenges of our organization. The Gift of Life has not quite yet made 5 years old. Still in it’s infantile stage, we are ever aiming to take this organization to new heights for the sake of the families and communities we serve. We did more than ever but we have more work to do still.
The 5K Super Run took place in February and we could see the growth when compared to the previous year. There were crowds of runners all dressed up in their superhero costumes, having an awesome time for a heart-touching cause. Then, throughout the year we delivered preemie hats to the NICU and shipped out stacks of preemie care packages, both for families who were admitted and discharged. Our black tie gala was as elegant as ever, with it’s red carpet entry, silent auction, celebrity performances, and delectable cuisine. Everyone put on their best to give their best to those in need.
Even The Gift of Life’s website saw some major changes in 2017. We performed a total redesign to make it run faster, smoother, and provide a better user experience so that it could be the tool we needed in order to reach more people and do more good.
We have set our goals for 2018, including securing an office space that can house our administrative offices as well as serve as a donation drop off and preemie family mentoring center. We also aim to improve our outreach efforts and add more volunteers to our team. And of course, we’re always looking to improve the efficiency of our processes, growing ever better at fulfilling our mission, which states, “The Gift of Life offers hope, encouragement, and support to the parents of premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit.”
Will you help us in celebrating Rosie’s birthday and preparing to achieve 2018’s goals? Join us on Facebook for Rosie’s Birthday fundraiser to make a contribution to cause.
Happy Birthday Rosie. May you celebrate countless more! You’re living proof that one person can make a difference
With Much Love,
Elisa
Webmaster for The Gift of Life
by Rosie | Oct 13, 2017 | Birthdays
Eight years ago today a miracle was born, our son Kaleb Moore. He is the reason that the Gift of Life was founded. As parents, Marcus and I struggled with the thought of what would happen to our little baby if he did not make it.
The chance of survival was 5%. We both had a lot of faith that if God brought us this baby, that He would help him survive. Five and a half months in the NICU gave us a chance to think and see how other parents handled the premature birth of their baby. This is when we realized that we needed to do something to help others.
As I was waiting one day to wash my hands before entering the NICU, I started to watch the parents ahead of me. They had a solemn look on their faces and a look of worry. When it was Marcus’ turn, I noticed that he had that same look as the parents ahead of me. My turn came up to wash my hands and as I washed my hands, I looked up in the mirror and besides the tired eyes that stared back at me, I noticed something. I had that same solemn, sad, and worried face that the other parents had, “traumanicumized” as I call it.
I thought at that moment, we have been here 60 days and we do not know what is ahead for us, I can’t live my life in worry and not have faith. I asked myself what can I do, I would be the blind leading the blind.
I spoke with Marcus and we decided that we would spread cheer during the Christmas season to help us feel better. We started out with cookies for all the NICU units at our hospital as well as the labor and delivery unit and the high risk antepartum and postpartum unit. We thought that would cheer the nurses up, but started to think further as we were thinking of returning the following year. We, the parents, are the ones in need of support, so how do we make someone feel better? The cookies then became a part of our Christmas delivery until 2012 when we met some senior citizens who knitted bears. This started the Christmas bear deliveries.
From there, The Gift of Life was born and started delivering care packages on admission and discharge to the NICU with the help of their corporate partners at Enfamil, Aloma Printing, and Pampers. Today we are delivering packages all over the United States when they are requested by the parents in the NICU. Our goal is to one day reach every NICU in the United Staes from day one that the baby is admitted there.
Today help us celebrate Kaleb’s birthday with well wishes for him. If you are able to make a donation on his birthday, all donations go to help support our preemie mentor program and care package distribution all across the United States.
A Letter to Kaleb…
Dear Kaleb,
You were chosen by God to be on this earth, may this day be full of fun and exciting things today. You are a miracle and you will do great things in life. You are The Gift of Life’s Biggest ambassador, a living testimony that test and trials can be turned in to testimonies to encourage others. We love you so much.
Love Mommy and Daddy
by admin | Feb 26, 2017 | Birthdays, Fatherhood, Holidays, Inspiration, Parenting
Here at The Gift of Life we’ve established a tradition of celebrating birthdays by dedicating a blog post to the celebrant. Birthdays are extremely important occasions to us because their very meaning touches so close to home when home is what we’re all about; too many preemies don’t get to celebrate even turning one year old.
So we take a lot of joy when someone we know and love gets to celebrate another year of life. Today, we’d like to send out a very happy birthday greeting to our own Marcus Moore, co-founder of The Gift of Life.
Now Marcus is a special kind of guy, indeed. When his son Kaleb was born a preemie and needed special at-home care, Marcus stepped up and left his career to stay at home and take care of his newborn son.
Life is so precious that not one moment ought to be taken for granted, and Marcus realized this. Kaleb had defied the odds when he lived despite warnings from medical experts who said he wasn’t going to make it. And the sad fact is that a lot of preemies who have this prediction placed over them by doctors indeed perish, even if they survive a few years.
Marcus took it upon himself to oversee his son’s well-being firsthand. It’s rare to hear of a stay-at-home dad, but considering what it takes to take care of a preemie, Marcus took the position of stay-at-home dad to a whole other level – it’s what he wanted to do and it’s what had to be done.
And we can see the results of Marcus’ love and care for his preemie son. We have a living witness that serves as the evidence of this man’s prayers come true – Kaleb himself, who just so happened to have turned a whopping 7 years old last year.
In a world where broken homes and general brokenness is not uncommon men like Marcus Moore are of particular noteworthiness. No way would we at The Gift of Life let the day go by without extending to him our well wishes for Marcus’ birthday.
Happy Birthday Marcus Moore! You too are a gift of life.
Want to join in on the birthday celebration? Consider making a donation to The Gift of Life.
by Elisa | Dec 22, 2016 | Birthdays, Inspiration, Rosie Moore
Some people go all about for their birthday, buying themselves expensive gifts and expecting others in the life to do the same. Funds aside, there are people of all ages, walks of life, and status levels who consider their birthdays to be all about them and insist, even take great pleasure, in celebrating them as such – there’s nothing wrong with that, right?
It’s true that there are those who don’t celebrate birthdays at all, rather for religious reasons or lack thereof. At The Gift of Life, birthdays are extremely important, not due to some philosophical reason, but because of the condition in which some enter the world, namely preemies. For a preemie to survive that first year is a big deal because that baby had a high chance of not making it even that far in life. So, when his or her birthday comes, it’s celebration time, regardless.
But what about those who arrive in the world fully formed? Life is still worth celebrating. Much like the high level of wonder and interest that is given in the lives of those who have longevity and make it beyond 100 years of age, each year is precious and counts. That life has its ups and downs through the years, that people make mistakes, is irrelevant here; the value of a person is gestalt – greater than the sum of his or her parts. Every person has the right to celebrate the years they survive, one at a time. How do you celebrate yours?
Today, December 22nd, is our founder’s birthday. Happy birthday Rosie! We love you! And Rosie does enjoy celebrating her birthday, indeed…
Being the mom of a preemie son as well as the leader of an organization that cares for the families of preemies, understanding the value of life and of surviving the years comes to Rosie effortlessly and gracefully. For her, the celebration of her birthday is not just about herself, but of life. All human life.
On your next birthday, consider celebrating it by doing good for someone else. Make your birthday celebration not about you and experience the great reward from so doing. For Rosie’s birthday, we ask that you join us in celebrating it the way she loves to do; giving to the preemie cause and community – make a donation to The Gift of Life. Even the smallest amount counts.
