When Kris and Heather Wright’s daughter Nora passed away three weeks after being born, Kris wanted to be the one to tell his Western Albemarle girls’ basketball squad that Nora didn’t make it. Nora, one of two twins along with son Colin born prematurely last February during a trip to Roanoke for a baby shower, passed away after antibiotics couldn’t overcome an internal infection.
So, via speakerphone from Roanoke, Wright told his team, who’d gathered in athletic director Steve Heon’s office, the heartbreaking news.
Why wouldn’t he want to tell them? You always want that kind of news to come from family.
Kris Wright has been the head coach of the Warriors since 2008 and was an assistant long before that, serving under previous head coach Jason Barnett. As anyone who has taken over a program knows, that can often require as much energy from the coach’s spouse as the coaches themselves. From time commitments to team functions and games, Heather has been plugged into the Western program right along with Kris.
“We really adopt these kids,” said Heather Wright. “They’re yours.”
Which made the Wrights’ pregnancy a collective experience with the Warriors’ players. They were excited about the impending arrival of the twins and shared the joy of every step along the way.
When Heather traveled to Roanoke for a baby shower, there had been no indications of impending complications in what was, by all accounts, a smooth pregnancy. Kris was covering a UVa basketball game for his day job as editor of TheSabre.com and wasn’t set to arrive in Roanoke until later that Saturday. Heather called and let him know that because of a potential complication, she was heading to the hospital, and that he should get to Roanoke.
Colin and Nora were born, both at two pounds, seven ounces at almost 29 weeks, 11 weeks short of term.
“I think we have run the full gamut of emotions you can possibly have,” Heather said. “It was terrifying to end up in the hospital on the day I was supposed to be headed to a baby shower. He’s dealing with fear, I’m dealing with fear. Then we have these two beautiful babies and you have the elation of your first child. I kissed them hello and then off they went to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). That’s a very different experience.”
After about a week, both parents got the chance to hold Nora and Colin, though even that wasn’t typical.
“You hold them, and they’re still attached to machines,” Kris said. “It’s amazing to hold your children no matter how you hold them, but you’re very aware of it, because there are monitors going off for your baby and every other baby (in the NICU pod).”
Both children progressed well in those first few weeks, but a blood vessel, the ductus arteriosus, didn’t close in Nora’s heart. The doctors first tried drugs, but they didn’t work, and then took the three-week old into surgery. Shortly thereafter, the fast-moving infection raced through the body.
“She was recovering from surgery,” Heather said. “She’d come through that and was doing better. It wasn’t expected at all.”
On March 21st, Nora passed, leaving both parents devastated and prompting the emotionally-charged call to Wright’s team back in Charlottesville.
“I think some of them had to go home,” Wright said.
A few may have needed to go home, but the entire group of them didn’t take much time at all to try and turn those overwhelming circumstances into an opportunity to do some good. Some members of the team learned about the March of Dimes’ March for Babies, and along with assistant coach Lori Fletcher, helped organize a group to walk in the Charlottesville-area March for Babies. The walk raises money and awareness for premature birth issues and research.
“They jumped on that as an opportunity to honor our children,” Kris said. “It’s hard to express what that means. But we call them family and we treat them like family, so for them to reciprocate is…I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s kind of an amazing thing. They’re still supporting us through it.”
That team, named “Do The Wright Thing” raised more than $3,000 in year one, the most for any newly-formed team in the Charlottesville walk, one of many that take place across the United States (Orange hosts a walk on Saturday, May 4, at 9 a.m. for example). They decided to honor the Wrights’ children this year too by bringing the fundraiser together and have already exceeded their initial fundraising goal of $5,000 with nearly $7,000 in donations. Other area girls’ basketball teams and their coaches have reached out to support the walk this year too.
The Wrights are serving as the area’s ambassador family for the regional March of Dimes, attending events and sharing their story with people throughout the area.
This year, Colin, now more than a year old and progressing marvelously, will be able to ride along in the stroller for the walk.
“He’s an extremely even-tempered baby,” Kris said. “It’s very rare that we get random fits. We call him our little miracle. Anybody that was born as early as our children were is a miracle. We celebrate everything.”
With good reason.
This year’s March for Babies is Saturday, April 28th. To donate to or join the “Do the Wright Thing” team, click here.
