Hundreds turn out for Elk Grove’s March of Dimes walk

Briget Schwab of Palatine shudders when she remembers the news she faced after delivering her son, Jack, at 26 weeks gestation: Doctors feared he might not survive.

With his underdeveloped lungs, his one chance of survival, they told her, was surfactant therapy developed by the March of Dimes in 1990, in their campaign to reduce premature births.

The artificially produced surfactant liquid worked to coat the inside of his lungs, she says, enabling them to open so that Jack could breathe.

“Without the March of Dimes, Jack wouldn’t be here,” Schwab said simply.

Instead, he is a healthy 3-year old who participated with his family in the “Walk for Babies,” held Sunday at six sites across Chicago and the suburbs, including at Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village.

In all, approximately 1,200 walkers turned out for the Northwest suburban walk, making it the third largest in the Chicago area. Alison Connolly, with the Greater Chicago Division of March of Dimes, said their goal was to raise $215,000.

Volunteers helping to run the event included cross country runners and National Honor Society members from Conant High School as well as the girls’ softball and boys’ golf teams from Fremd High School.

“This is our largest event, by far,” Connolly said of the multiple walks. “In the Chicago area, 91 cents of every dollar helps fund the causes of prematurity, birth defects and infant mortality.”

The majority of teams that turned out to Busse Woods were family teams. Many pushed their children in strollers or pulled them in wagons, underscoring the role of the March of Dimes in working for stronger, healthier babies.

Gene Wagner of Hanover Park and his family team walked in honor of his sister, Lori Wagner, who was a poster child for March of Dimes back in 1966 and 1967. She was born with spina bifida and passed away in 1974.

Preventing birth defects has been at the center of March of Dimes’ research since its founding in 1938, but it remains the leading cause of infants’ deaths, with 70 percent of the causes of birth defects remaining unknown.

“I think of her every time we do the walk,” Wagner said, who walked with his daughter, Diana Wagner of Hanover Park, and her 3-month old son, Joshua.

Likewise, Larry and Michelle Bernstein of Round Lake Beach participate in the walk to keep alive the memory of their infant daughter, Riley Grace, who was born at 26 weeks and passed away after 14 days in the neonatal intensive care unit.

They joined two dozen team members who wore T-shirts bearing her tiny footprint and birth date, of May 21, 2006, and with the word, “Believe” on the back in pink lettering. Together, they pledged nearly $8,000, bringing the team’s total contribution to $30,000 in the five years since they have marched.

“We work really hard at this,” Michelle Bernstein said. “We don’t get to celebrate her birthday, but today, it’s all about her and all the other babies.”