But Anna surprised everyone, and is now a toddler taking the world by storm.

"You'd never know she was a preemie," says her mom, Kim. "She's right where she should be."

Anna was born 16 weeks premature in June 1998 at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Her lungs weren't fully developed, and her veins were so small a special catheter had to be used to provide nourishment to her tiny body.

Anna remained in the hospital for nearly four months and finally came home on Oct. 14 - the day after her due date. She would be attached to a heart monitor and a breathing tube for the next few months.

The family celebrated Christmas quietly that year because, at 6 months old, Anna still only weighed nine pounds and was prone to infections. Despite the roadblocks, she kept up with other kids her age developmentally.

Dr. Nasreen Wahidi, Anna's neonatologist at Covenant Medical Center, says it's not unusual to see this kind of progress, given the technology available, and doesn't expect Anna to fall behind her peers.

"She's not gone to school yet," Wahidi says. "We still have time to see something (in the way of developmental delays), but at the rate she's going I don't foresee anything."

Anna's first birthday celebration last year was low-key, her parents still wary of the possibility of infections.

"We never left the house except for doctor appointments," Kim says.

Anna didn't begin walking until she was 18 months old, slightly older than most children. But it wasn't because she was a preemie, her mom says.

Like most children, Anna had her share of ear infections. One night this past January Anna began running a fever. She was sleeping with her mom when suddenly she went into convulsions. Frightened, her father, Dave, called for an ambulance. Anna was rushed to Covenant Medical Center's emergency room where doctors diagnosed the problem. Anna's fever, caused by an ear infection, had spiked to 104 degrees.

A week later Anna got tubes in her ears to curb the recurrent infections and began walking a few days afterwards. Doctors speculate her walking was delayed by a balance problem caused by the ear infections.

This winter was the first time Anna got to experience the outdoors. She watched out the window often, marveling at the fluffy white snow.

"Everything was so new to her," Kim says.

Anna will get a taste of spring in May when she and her parents participate in the March of Dimes annual WalkAmerica event. The Michelsens have been named the area's official March of Dimes ambassador family and will lead the pack on the 6.5-mile jaunt.

March of Dimes is an international organization dedicated to reducing birth defects and infant mortality by raising money for education and research.

"This family represents the March of Dimes well," says Jorji Allen, community director for March of Dimes. "There are lots of success stories within March of Dimes. This case just happens to be extraordinary."

Thanks to March of Dimes research on drugs to help infants with underdeveloped lungs, Anna is now a normal child. The evidence is everywhere in the Michelsen home - toys scattered around the living room, toddler cups in the kitchen sink and the sounds of the little girl's "uh-oh's" every time she drops one of her many baby dolls.

"She's so alive," Wahidi says of Anna. "She just wants to get into everything. There's not enough time for her to explore her world."

Anna's height and weight are now in the normal range for her age, and she makes messes as well as any toddler, her mom says. She loves country music, especially the Dixie Chicks, and dances to the videos played on Country Music Television.

"She's all caught up now," Kim says, smiling at Anna, who has strewn Pooh books across the floor.

This year Anna will celebrate her second birthday with a little more fanfare than her first, Kim says, now that she's healthy enough to venture out.

But Anna doesn't seem to be thinking about a birthday party. Rattling dishes around in her Little Tykes play kitchen, she appears to be celebrating every day already.

© Waterloo Courier 2000