Benefitting
FAMILY PROFILE
Paterson Family
Home: Camdenton, MO (Camden County)
On November 30, 2017, my husband and I arrived at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MO. We were thinking at 34 weeks and 3 days it was early to be going into labor, but with increased pain and pressure and living two hours from the hospital, we decided it was baby time. After arriving at the hospital, we found out I had probably been in labor for over 24 hours already. I was given a shot to make sure Raylan’s lungs were developed and to try to slow or stop labor. The goal was to keep me pregnant longer and make sure we had a healthy baby. We were told countless times that if I delivered before Monday (35 weeks), he would immediately be taken to the NICU because he would be considered too early to be able to stay with us. However, labor progressed and after four days, my husband, family, and I felt like Raylan was ready to come into the world. Our little bundle of joy waited until early on Monday to make his appearance. Weighing 7lbs 3oz at birth, the doctors decided he could stay with us in our room, but he would be closely monitored. Everything went well until his bilirubin levels started increasing, and he did not pass his car seat test. This is when Raylan was admitted to the NICU and I was discharged, but I was not leaving the hospital without my baby. A huge amount of stress and worry was lifted off of this mother’s shoulders when we found out about the Ronald McDonald House. During Raylan’s eight-day stay in the NICU, we were able to stay just one floor above him. This allowed us to go down to feed, change and parent our otherwise healthy baby boy. When we needed to step away, it was a short elevator ride to the Ronald McDonald House where we had an amazingly comfortable bed to sleep in (or should I say nap in) and a shower tub that I could soak in and heal. There was a meal served every night and the sweets were amazing! We will be forever grateful for the staff and the room we were given which allowed us to be close to and parent our new baby boy.
ShareAHeart.org