Fa m ily P rof i l e :
Family of
Azuriyah Jones Home: St. Robert, MO (Pulaski County) At just over 38 weeks pregnant, I started throwing up blood, and the doctor decided to induce me. After 24 hours of labor, I had a temperature of 103, which I then passed on to my baby, Azuriyah. When it was time to push, my Azuriyah’s heart rate started to drop, and he got stuck in the birth canal. Once they were able to get him out, he was rushed to the NICU and spent over 2 weeks there, where he was diagnosed with neonatal encephalopathy. The Ronald McDonald House was a blessing for my family. We live an hour and 45 minutes away and didn’t want to leave the hospital. I also was pumping milk to store for him, and staying at the house gave me a place to store the milk until I went back to the NICU. We were able to stay together as a family, which was very important during this stressful time. Thanks to the Ronald McDonald House, our 3-year-old had somewhere to get away from the hospital, and they took care of us at a time when we were unable to think about anything other than our baby. The financial burden of staying in a motel would have been a strain on us, along with the time my husband was not working in order to be with us at the hospital. We will forever be grateful to the Ronald McDonald House and its staff.
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