Brittany Baldwin, 10, Mandeville, LA
"My daughter was born prematurely on May 25, 1996. At birth, she weighed a mere 2.1 pounds. Once my water broke, the doctors tried several methods to stop the contractions, but I developed an infection and Brittany was born by C-section 20 hours later.
Brittany struggled a great deal in her first year of life. At one point, her weight dropped to just over 1 pound. After 3 months, her weight climbed to 4 pounds, 1 ounce and we were finally able to take her home. Although Brittany battled many obstacles such as ear infections and common colds that could have been life-threatening, she always bounced back and continued to thrive and amaze us as well as her doctors. Her kind spirit and sensitive nature is a miracle and inspiration to us all."
 -- Lynda, mom of Brittany

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