Premature Birth and RSV Awareness...

Sun, 12 Sep 2004 19:25:25 GMT

Hello,My name is Maysa Leak,and I want to tell you about the History of Jazz.

Not the beautiful American music that I love to sing,but my beautiful son named Jazz.

Jazz was born on December 6th,1999 at The Aizenbashi Hospital in Osaka,Japan.

Jazz was born three months prematurely,at 25 weeks gestational age.He only weighed two pounds when he was born and was immediately placed in the NICU ward of the hospital,where he stayed for two and a half months.

After Jazz reached the weight of exactly five pounds,he was allowed to travel on an airplane to journey home to Baltimore,Maryland to finally meet his family.

Eight months after Jazz had finally adjusted to being home,he caught what we thought was a cold,but it was more severe than the ones he had on previous occasions.

Jazz's breathing was very labored and we rushed him to the hospital immediately.

That's the first time we heard of a disease called RSV.

RSV is a respiratory illness that affects premature and other at-risk infants.It may start as a cold,but can quickly become life -threatening.

Fortunately,there are ways to help prevent RSV.

Luckily for our family,Jazz recovered from that episode ,and his pediatrician taught us how to help prevent Jazz from having a recurrence of this terrible virus.

Our family was told to...

1.Always wash our hands before touching the baby.

2.Make sure that visitors wash their hands and do not have a cold,sore throat,or flu-like symptoms.

3.Keep the baby away from second-hand smoke.

4.Keep the baby/child at home as much as possible, away from crowds and other children.

Our doctor also prescribed a medicine for Jazz,which he got once a month during the RSV season,to help prevent further episodes of RSV from occurring.

Because I now know how serious RSV can be,I am proud to be the National Spokesperson for RSV awareness.Jazz and I have just filmed a public service announcement that will be aired later this year,and I will be talking with the media during RSV season(fall through spring)to help raise awareness about RSV risks and prevention.I want other families of at-risk babies to learn about RSV before their baby gets sick,so that they can take the proper precautions to help protect their baby from RSV.

Now,at five and a half years old,Jazz is a strong,beautiful,healthy little boy,happily anticipating his first day of Kindergarten.

****UPDATE****

Jazz turned 6 on December 6,2005 and his first report card states that he is in the top 5 of his class,and that he is adored by his teachers and students alike!

Yeah! That's my little preemie! Go Jazzie!

updated: January 2,2006 by maysa leak

The History Of Jazz,by Maysa Leak

Premature Birth and RSV Awareness...