Chloé and Isabella were born at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital four weeks early to first-time parents Maria and Romain Vidal-Michel. After birth, Chloé went to an incubator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Isabella went to the well-baby nursery.

 

Videl-Michel Family“Having our babies separated was hard,” remembers Maria. “But we managed to make the best of it, with help and support from the Houston Methodist Sugar Land staff.”

 

While Romain spent time in the NICU learning how to feed and take care of Chloé, Maria was learning how to breastfeed and care for Isabella. Despite the separation, Maria says she knew that her babies had the best possible care at every moment.

 

Today, Chloé and Isabella are nine months old and are happy and healthy. As her way of saying thank you to the hospital staff that took such great care of her babies, Maria is serving as the 2018 Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital’s Patient Ambassador for the March of Dimes Walk for Babies.

 

The Fort Bend Walk for Babies is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 21 at Constellation Field, 1 Stadium Drive in Sugar Land. Houston Methodist Sugar Land employees are teaming up once again to walk in support of the many valuable services that March of Dimes funds.

 

Fort Bend residents are invited to join the hospital’s team and participate in the 3.2-mile walk to raise funds that support healthy childbirth and babies. Easily sign up at marchforbabies.org/team/HoustonMethodistSugarLandHospital and click on the purple “Join This Team” button on the right. Or, you can donate to our team by clicking on the pink “Donate” button.

 

“March of Dimes does a fantastic job of working to support healthy lives for newborns,” said Chris Siebenaler, chief executive officer at Houston Methodist Sugar Land. “Proceeds from the annual Walk for Babies are used to fund research into understanding premature births and how to prevent them, as well as actually supporting families like the Vidal-Michel family who are struggling with the stress and difficulty of having a premature baby. Participating in the walk is our way of giving back and working toward reducing or eliminating premature births here in Fort Bend.”

 

The Houston Methodist Childbirth Center at Sugar Land offers moms-to-be from Fort Bend and surrounding areas a convenient, comfortable, caring environment for their labor and delivery. With state-of-the-art technology, an experienced, highly skilled staff and a Level II NICU, the Childbirth Center offers medical center quality close to home.

 

To learn more about Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, visit houstonmethodist.org/sugarland or our Facebook page at fb.com/methodistsugarland for the latest news, events and information.