FALL 2019
The Kezer Family
“
Written by Beth Kezer
At 35 weeks pregnant, I was admitted to the hospital with severe preeclampsia. Due to the seriousness of my condition, my doctor determined it was safer for me to deliver my son early. After 13 hours of labor, my son’s condition deteriorated, and he had to be delivered by emergency caesarean. William weighed 4 pounds, was in respiratory distress, and was immediately admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Sanford Hospital in Fargo.
his stay was five weeks.
As most new parents have experienced,
With the help of a social worker at the
discharge date from the hospital grew
McDonald House Charities of the Red
would not be coming home with me
hospital, we were given a private room
surpassed specific milestones required
would never find at a hotel, including
At the time, I was living with my now
ex-husband in Grand Forks, ND. After going through 13 hours of induced
labor and emergency surgery, I was in
no condition to make the 160-mile daily round trip to be with our son. To add
insult to injury, my son’s father had been fired from his job because he chose to be with me at the hospital in Fargo for
the birth of our son instead of showing
“To say we were overwhelmed by the generosity we received from this organization and the people running it just doesn’t cut it.”
up for his scheduled shift at work. We
were in a very difficult position physically, emotionally, and financially.
the next few days were a blur. As my
hospital, we were referred to Ronald
closer, it became evident that my son
River Valley. The day after I left the
until he had grown strong enough and
and numerous comforts of home you
to leave the NICU. The estimated time for
hot meals, full run of a kitchen, shuttle
service to and from the hospital, laundry services, and a tremendous amount of support from the people running the
organization. When we explained our
current financial status to the director, she told me we didn’t need to worry about
paying for anything—RMHCRRV would
be there to support us the entire time our son was in the hospital. To say we were overwhelmed by the generosity we
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