Fa m ily P rof i l e :
Family of
Bentley Turner Ahrens Home: Marshfield, MO (Webster County) Already one week past my due date, I was admitted to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MO, for a scheduled induction on Sunday, January 22, 2017. My nurse was prepping me for the induction when suddenly the labor room was filled with medical personnel. My doctor was not on call that night, so one of his associates was with me. My son’s heart rate had dropped dangerously low but quickly came back up. This happened several more times, only not as severely, within the next few hours. The doctor had decided not to induce me but to schedule a C-section the following morning with my doctor in attendance. That was not meant to be. My son’s heart rate dropped drastically again, and the doctor recommended an emergency C-section. So, they whisked me to the delivery room to prep me for a C-section. This took about an hour or more because they had trouble putting in my epidural without my son’s heart rate dropping. Fortunately, on their last try, they got it in and my mother was allowed to be with me for the delivery of my son. My son was born quickly, without any complications. We thought all was well…however, about 2-3 hours after his birth, they discovered that his blood sugar was dangerously low, and they could not get it where it needed to be. We tried adding formula, and we even added formula with extra calories in it, but his blood sugar counts were still too low, so they whisked him away to the NICU. My mother went along and made sure he got settled before coming back to help me. My son was still in the NICU when I was discharged four days later. My mother and I had decided we would just stay in my son’s NICU room, but then we were contacted by someone from the Ronald McDonald House within Mercy Hospital and said we qualified for a room there. This was such a blessing to my family. I was able to rest and sleep when I needed it, food was provided for us, there was a free laundry facility, and just about anything else we could possibly need. My mom and I spent most of each day with my son in the NICU, only leaving when we needed to eat, shower, and sleep. Our room was very quiet, so I was able to rest when I needed it. We had only expected to be at Mercy Hospital for a few extra days, or maybe up to a week, but we ended up being there 18 days because my son was having difficulty eating. Staying in the Ronald McDonald House, which is located just one floor above the NICU, allowed me to be with my son as often as I wanted to be. I was only a floor away at all times, which meant the world to me, since Bentley is my first child. The Ronald McDonald House is much more than a charity. It is truly a “home away from home,” where you have “family” that cares about you and wants to help make your stay with them as comfortable as possible.
www.ShareAHeart.org