Bailey Rose Walsh, the 45 th annual Variety Kids Telethon Celebrity Child, was born December 6, 1999, 3 months prematurely. Bailey's family was feeling celebratory that Monday because this pregnancy had officially made it further than the first one. Bailey's brother, Kyle, was born at 27 weeks 6 days and this was the first day of the 28th week for Bailey.

It started off as any day, Bailey's mom, Andrea, had another ultrasound to make sure Bailey was getting enough blood. Andrea was diagnosed early in the pregnancy with an extra antibody that makes the blood too thick during pregnancy and raises the risk of a blood clot. Andrea and her mother, Grandma Rosie, were excited to see that Bailey was definitely a girl. They were planning on celebrating by going out for lunch.

However, Dr. Lele, a high-risk doctor at the hospital felt that Andrea should stay for observation. Bailey's Dad, Sean, received the familiar call that Andrea was in the hospital again, this time just one day further along that the last pregnancy, unsure how things were going.

Shortly after Sean arrived, Andrea could no longer find Bailey's heartbeat on the fetal monitor. Doctor's quickly confirmed the worst, the placenta had been sheared off by a blood clot and Bailey was not getting any blood.

Doctor's and nurses began rushing around and within minutes Andrea was in the operating room going under general anesthesia. To complicate things further, Andrea's heart stopped before they could deliver Bailey. Once Andrea was stabilized, Bailey was delivered in less than a minute. She was blue and had no heartbeat.

Thanks to the heroic efforts of the doctors, Bailey was quickly revived and weighed in at the same 2 pounds 6 ounces that her brother weighed 3 years before.

The first weeks were difficult. Bailey had an open heart valve, and grade 3 brain bleeds on both sides of her brain. She was on a ventilator and caught several infections. Bailey had brain surgery at 9 days old to relieve the water on her brain. On several occasions, it looked as if Bailey would not make it through.

But Bailey made it through. It was obvious from the very beginning that she was a

fighter. Each day she got a little bigger and a little stronger. The next blow came when

Bailey was one month old. Doctors told Sean and Andrea that Bailey has Cystic PVL, a condition that confirms brain damage. But the damage was nowhere near as severe as was expected. It was still unknown how Bailey would develop.

Bailey came home on oxygen and had medication administered 10 times a day to help with her scarred lungs and urinary reflux.

At one year of age, Bailey was diagnosed with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy affecting primarily the legs.

At 15 months, Bailey had surgery on her eyes because the brain damage had caused them to cross.

At 4 years of age, Bailey had two orthopedic surgeries to turn her feet out and lengthen her heel cords that left her in casts for 3 months.

Bailey has had Botox injections two times to reduce spasticity in her legs. This has been very successful and makes walking easier.

While she has been followed by many clinics in the hospital and Robert Warner Rehab, currently she is followed by the orthopedic clinic and spasticity clinic.

At 7 years old, Bailey walks with assistance, and despite several identified learning disabilities, is thriving in an inclusion classroom at Big Tree Elementary School in Hamburg where she is in the first grade.

Thanks in part to the many miracles Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo makes happen every day, Bailey is doing well. With the continued support of the Western New York community, Bailey and all of Western New York's very special kids will have "Hope For Tommorrow."