Utah girl traveling country for March of Dimes

Navy Anderson is a prime example of how sometimes the best things in life don't come to those who wait.

Navy surprised her parents, Jamie and Mike Anderson of Logan, by arriving 17 weeks earlier than she was supposed to. Navy only weighed 1 pound, 6 ounces, had to spend the next 116 days in neonatal intensive care units, went through 12 blood transfusions and had surgeries for heart and eye problems.

And she was the fortunate one. Her twin brother, Jackson, survived just 3 1/2 hours before dying.

Six years later, Navy is a healthy girl who remarkably has no serious problems related to her premature birth. Her family credits medical advances aided by the March of Dimes, namely surfactant therapy, for helping her pull through so well.

Now Navy is part of the March of Dimes team. She's been named the organization's 2005 National Ambassador and will travel the country with her parents to help raise awareness of premature births — a growing crisis that has increased by 29 percent since 1981. Every year, according to a March of Dimes press release, nearly one-half million babies are born prematurely in the country.

Navy's family hopes she can help people realize there is still important work to be done to help ensure each baby gets a healthy full-term birth. They experienced the best and worst, having lost Jackson while seeing Navy overcome her rough start.

"If there's one family out there who would see Navy and have hope for their child in a NICU then we'll feel that we've accomplished what we set out to do," Jamie Anderson said.

The March of Dimes launched a five-year, $75 million campaign in 2003 to educate women to the signs and symptoms of premature births, hoping to reduce the rate to 15 percent by 2007. Premature births accounted for a hospital bill of $13.6 billion in 2001, the release claimed.

Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, the March of Dimes president, said premature birth has become the most common, serious and costly problem facing America's infants.

"The Anderson family knows firsthand the struggles surrounding a premature birth, with both the joy of having a baby survive and the heartache of the loss of a child," she said. "We are so grateful for their willingness to travel the country to help generate awareness and raise funds to fight this growing crisis."

Navy is the latest in a line of ambassadors, a program that dates back to 1946 and helps put a face on the March of Dimes mission.

"Navy is such a beautiful little girl and we in Utah are so proud to have her selected at the National Ambassador Child," said Michelle Larsen, March of Dimes chapter director of program services. "We can't think of a better ambassador for one of the most serious health problems facing our nation."

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