Our son, Jay Nova Sanchez, was born premature over 3 months early at just 26.4 gestation weighing only 500 grams at birth due to severe growth restriction for reasons unknown to this day. He was named after Jay Moriarity, the famous surfer from Santa Cruz, California, who surfed Mavericks in Half Moon Bay at just 16 years old. Ironically, Jay was born on his same birthday - June 16th! The motto "paddle paddle paddle little grom" is from the movie "Chasing Mavericks" about his life and was our motto throughout his journey in the NICU. Our miracle micropreemie beat the odds and surpassed medical expectations, being living proof that you should NEVER give up and that God is real!
Jay charged big waves in the NICU learning how to breathe on a ventilator, on CPAP, on high flow, on low flow, and eventually his lungs became so strong upon going home he could breathe all on his own. He conquered eating challenges and overcame developmental delays that come with being born so early (his original due date was September 18th 2023). He spent 133 days total in the NICU and was able to finally come home with us on October 26th 2023 and has been thriving at home ever since! He taught us to never take for granted the ability to breathe oxygen, to eat food, to live a healthy life. He's such a happy baby and he brings so much joy to everyone who sees his smile & knows his truly remarkable story. We're doing this 5K run/walk in honor of his amazing journey in 2023 as we quickly approach his 1st birthday. He's our hero! #JayBoyStrong
Let's raise money for Hoag Hospital Foundation in honor of Baby Jay so they can continue to save lives of future miracle NICU babies! Our goal amount is $2,640 in honor of Jay being born at 26.4 gestation but any amount is amazing going towards a great cause. We're so grateful to the incredible neonatal doctors, amazing nurses, and awesome therapists who worked with Jay and continue to do amazing work saving the tiny humans.
