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FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ― Like most first time parents, Lee and Melanie were thrilled when they were learned Melanie was pregnant 7 years ago.

"I was having a normal pregnancy, happy and healthy to have our first child," Melanie said. "And all of a sudden just one day I went into pre-term labor. And was forced to deliver Josh 4 months early."

Josh weighed just one pound, 11 ounces at birth.

"We didn't even know if he would live," Melanie told CBS 4's Carey Codd. "And if he did the doctors were telling us we weren't sure if he'd be able to walk, talk or see or hear."

Josh underwent numerous surgeries on his eyes to make sure he could see, in addition to other surgeries. He spent more than three months in the neonatal intensive care unit at Baptist Hospital in Miami.

"The worst part was not being able to bring our baby home," Melanie said. "Every day we had to go home without him. I felt completely helpless. I was in denial for the first few days for sure but then we realized that we needed to fight for Josh."

Lee said each night the couple would fear a phone call from the hospital to their Weston home, telling them Josh had taken a turn for the worse.

Fortunately, the call never came.

"At the time it was a very shameful thing," Lee said. "It was almost like we failed and it took a long time to realize that was irrational but at the time it felt like a very rational thought."

Those fears and worries subsided with the years, as Josh grew stronger. Today, Josh is legally blind in his right eye but it does not limit him.

"Josh is just a happy, healthy and wonderful kid," Lee said.

Watching Josh is like watching any other 6 year old. He loves to build castles and buildings with his younger brother Alex, play the piano and hopes to one day be an architect or a photographer.

He is too young to remember the perilous moments of his beginning but he does know he's lucky.

"The March of Dimes gave me the chance to live so know I can dream big and think of happy things," Josh said.

The Hoffman family credits the research and support of the March of Dimes with assisting Josh overcome his premature birth. Specifically, the Hoffman's say surfactant -- a soapy substance that supports a preemie's lungs -- helped Josh survive. Surfactant was developed by a doctor working through a March of Dimes grant.

The March of Dimes estimates that more than half a million babies are born prematurely in the United States each year. That amounts to one in every eight births. The March of Dimes is working to find out why. Josh Hoffman and his family will be helping them.

Josh has been named the 2010 March of Dimes National Ambassador. That means he will be travelling the country giving speeches to corporations and families, helping gain support and donations for the March of Dimes. This is not new to Josh, though. He has also served as the Broward County ambassador for the organization.

The Hoffman said they became involved with the March of Dimes after Josh's birth and recovery.

"(Melanie) said we can't go through that and not reciprocate to the organization that helped Josh get healthy," said Lee. "She started volunteering and Josh started getting involved and they saw something in him which is his ability to give speeches, which is kind of uncanny."

At a recent event in Broward, Josh earned applause from the crowd and even sang a song while he played piano.

Mother Melanie said they will assist the March of Dimes in teaching women about healthy pregnancies.

"The research and treatments funded by the March of Dimes help educate families even before they start to become pregnant – like taking folic acid, following a regimen, going to doctors, exercising," she said.

Thanks to a number of factors, Josh is thriving. His parents say they appreciate each moment because they know how close they came to not having Josh around.

"It's Thanksgiving, but for our family, every day is Thanksgiving," Melanie said. "The love we have for our children has been made so richer because of the experience we had to go through. I wouldn't wish it on anybody but if I had to look for the silver lining, we take nothing for granted."

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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