38 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | JANUARY 2020 steroids I got. We’d never heard of them, but they were saving our baby.” On April 16, Dillon Warner was born, weighing in at one pound, eight ounces. He was 15 weeks premature and about to begin a 127-day stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). A roller coaster of emotions awaited the Warners. Dillon battled infections and endured heart surgery when he weighed just two pounds. And the stress didn’t lessen when they finally went home. “We couldn’t leave the house as a family for a year,” Mitzie said. “Visitors could only come if they were certain they weren’t sick. The nursery looked more like a hospital room. Still, we kept going back to the March of Dimes website to read stories of hope. And we prayed that ours would ultimately be one of them.” It was. By Christmas of 2016, tiny Dillon was stronger and healthier. Breathing a little easier, the Warners put the promise they made in the hospital into action. Mitzie created a small team to walk in the 2017 Phoenix March of Dimes fundraiser. Called Team Tiny Tot, she set a goal of raising $1,000. She overachieved and raised $1,400. The bar was established and had to be higher in 2018. She didn’t want to keep going back to her friends and family, realizing she needed to pull in more of the community. Her marketing background sparked an idea. In the NICU, Dillon had been given caffeine, a frequent practice to treat or prevent respiratory and lung problems in premature babies (another March of Dimes research discovery). “Coffee shops are so popular, it was clear they had to be part of the equation,” Mitzie said. “Partnering with a nearby Gilbert shop called Sweetz and a local mini horse farm, we held Sweetz, Sips and Mini Pony Pics, and we raised more than $3,000!” In the 2019 walk, Team Tiny Tot raised nearly $5,000. And just as thrilling, the Warners became one of the organization’s Ambassador Families, with the opportunity to share their story with donors. Mitzie also accepted the co-chair position for the 2020 Phoenix March for Babies, sharing duties with “ We kept going back to the March of Dimes website to read stories of hope. And we prayed that ours would ultimately be one of them.” Thanks to March of Dimes research and the NICU team at Honor Health Scottsdale Shea, Dylan is healthy today. That is why his family formed Team Tiny Tot.

her good friend, “Good Morning Arizona” anchor Olivia Fierro. Held in downtown Phoenix in April, it is the organization’s largest local fundraiser. Not all second acts are created from the ground up. Sometimes, a life’s mission grows as a branch of an already established second act. But the goal is the same: finding the treasure in life’s wreckage. It is one of the best ways to heal from challenges. For the Warners, not only is their March of Dimes work their treasure; there is one more. Jeremy is a pharmacist. The third night Mitzie was in the hospital before Dillon was born, Jeremy was with her, rather than at work. His pharmacy was robbed at gunpoint. It is frightening to think what might have happened had he been there. Suffice it to say that at less than two pounds, tiny Dillon might have saved his father’s life. To learn more, visit marchofdimes.org and teamtinytot.com . Your conscious life M A G A Z I N E #GreenLivingAZ 480 840 1589 • • Roosevelt Mini Park 837 N. 3rd Ave. Phoenix. AZ 85003 March 21, 2020 Yoga: 9a.m. Expos: 10a.m. - 3p.m. www.greenlivingaz.com/arizona-events/eco-events RSVP Online party.greenlivingaz.com HAVE FUN & INTERACT WITH US Introduces Eco PHX Substainable Apartments Eco Expo: • Local chef demonstrations • Sustainable products and services Green Living Magazine is providing an interactive experience for sustainability living by providing: • Family-friendly and children activities • Live music - come dance! Free Event Title Sponsor Other Sponsors Judy Pearson CONTRIBUTING WRITER info@A2ndAct.org