March of Dimes gives premature Tampa baby a fighting chance

TAMPA, Fla. - A baby born prematurely during the pandemic is thriving thanks to help from the March of Dimes. 

Suleidis and Leo Morantin were overjoyed about having a baby. 

"We were very, very excited," said Suleidis Morantin. "We got pregnant on our honeymoon. It was a big surprise because we weren't expecting to get pregnant so soon." 

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Seven months into the pregnancy, excitement turned into worry. 

"Then all of a sudden I started having nausea, pain in my chest, and I went to the hospital. And that's where they diagnosed me with a rare condition called Hellp syndrome," Suleidis Morantin explained. "The Tampa walk is April 22.  It's a life-threatening condition. And in order to save my life and the baby's life, you have to give birth." 

Suleidis Morantin, a transplant nurse at Tampa General Hospital knows all too well the issues with having a premature baby. 

"It was a nightmare. I mean, it was you know, at that point, all you have left is faith and hope and, you know, praying to God that everything's going to come out well because it's beyond your control," she said. Their son Damian was born at 28 weeks weighing just 1 pound 3 ounces. 

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"It was probably the happiest and scariest activity I partake in," said Leo Morantin. 

Damian spent 81 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit before going home. 

"Just taking him home felt surreal, let alone watching him take his first steps and say his first words," said Leo Morantin. 

With the help of the March of Dimes, Damian is now doing great. 

"He loves to be around his mom, his dad, his sister," said Suleidis Morantin. "And he's nonstop. Very sweet kid, very active kid." 

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It was a process the Morantins are glad is over. 

"I can honestly talk and tell other parents that, you know, it's going to be all right. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's just it just takes time and faith, honestly," she said. 

The Tampa walk is on April 22 at George M. Steinbrenner Field.