Dawson’s Story

Written by Dawson’s Mom

Dawson was born unexpectedly 8 weeks early at only 2.5 lbs. I was at the hospital for an ultrasound when suddenly they noticed Dawson's heart rate dropped and I was taken in for an emergency c-section. He was severely underweight and we learned he stopped growing a few weeks prior. But amazingly he had no other issues! His heart was good and he could breathe on his own, he just needed his digestive system to develop properly so he could eat and gain weight. It was a long, slow process of gradually increasing the amount of his feeds through a feeding tube until he could take 8 full bottles. Dawson ended up spending 7 weeks total between St. Catharines' and McMaster's NICU.

Dawson is now 13.5 lbs and is growing consistently. He still has a long way to go to catch up but little by little he's making progress. We love being able to hold him in our arms as much as we like now and can't imagine our life without him. 

We saw God's hand at work throughout the whole situation and there were so many miracles, big and small, during this whole journey. The Sarah Tapley Foundation was a huge blessing to us. By taking care of the many unexpected expenses around Dawson's NICU stay we were able to focus on Dawson and not worry about finances. We're so thankful that the Sarah Tapley Foundation was there to walk alongside us with their prayer and support!