78 Photo Essay: Leslie Burrough
English teacher, Carbon Hill High School
Words by Justin Hunter | Photo by Blakeney Clouse
Four years ago, Leslie Burrough’s life could’ve been lifted from the pages of a Christian novel. She was married to the love of her life, McClain, and was serving her community as the 12th grade English teacher at her alma mater, Carbon Hill High School. But soon she would enter into a two-month storm that didn’t leave her completely shipwrecked, but caused her to lean into faith, family, and community in a more profound way.
Leslie remembers the May morning she went into preterm labor with her first child, Anderson. She was looking into the mirror when Lamentations 3:22-23 flashed through her mind: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.” During their lengthy hospital stay, these verses would bring order into the chaos of having a child in the NICU.
Earlier in the day, Leslie had begun her usual morning exercise routine when she realized something was wrong. “I started having some cramping, but I thought it was nothing. I didn’t think it was serious,” she recalls.
She quickly showered and tried to stay calm as the anxiety started to rise. She was only 30 weeks pregnant, much too soon to be having contractions. Her pregnancy had been healthy until that point, and doctors had no idea why her body went into labor.
“I just remember grabbing my belly, and I was like, alright, Anderson just stay in there,” Leslie recalls. “That obviously wasn’t the plan, but it all worked out, and I just remember meditating on that verse while we were in the hospital.”
When Anderson was born at Walker Baptist Medical Center, he was 15 inches long and weighed only 3.4 pounds. He had to be immediately rushed to St. Vincent’s NICU. For 13 days, Leslie and McClain couldn’t hold their first-born son. “It makes you feel helpless, not being able to hold him,” Leslie says. “The nurses kept me motivated, and they were very supportive of me just being able to produce milk for him.”
In this time of crisis, the couple focused on the small victories and chose to celebrate Anderson’s passing development milestones—gaining an ounce of weight or a change in his diaper at bath time. “I learned to celebrate the positives each day,” said Leslie.
During their lengthy hospital stay, McClain and Leslie were overwhelmed by the love and support shown by the Carbon Hill community. “We received an overflow of cards, calls, and money to help. Our entire community rallied around us,” Leslie says.
Fast forward to today: the Burroughs now have a second child, Quinn. Leslie enjoys her job at the high school and is excited about being a working mom in the area, and Anderson is a healthy four-year-old boy who is full of life.
Leslie uses her experience as a blueprint to help other mothers navigate the emotional storm of preterm labor. Her words are a beacon of hope pointing to the steadfast love of God. 78