Benefitting
FAMILY PROFILE
Rippee Family
Home: Seymour, MO (Webster County)
On June 18th, 2018 Presley Jade was born five weeks early. I had some pre-term
complications at 28 weeks’ gestation, but I just kept telling myself that it wasn’t time for me to have my baby. This time was different though, I knew she was coming. When Presley was born, she looked like any other normal baby. When I first held Presley, she was perfect, small but perfect. Unfortunately, the doctors were concerned and sent her straight to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and I was stuck in my hospital bed, alone. My husband and I were so thankful that she was here, but we had a long road ahead of us. Presley spent three grueling weeks in the NICU. At first, the doctors would say “she just needs to figure out how to eat, then you will go home.” We were floored when “going home” became farther and farther away. A week went by and we hoped and prayed we would go home every day, but Presley wasn’t ready yet. At times the frustration overpowered the hope, and we just didn’t understand why us. At first, my husband and I didn’t leave Presley’s room for anything. We lived more than 30 minutes away from the hospital and leaving just wasn’t worth it. Then, the Ronald McDonald House granted us a room to stay in. This became our sanctuary! We were able to shower and get a great night’s sleep because of their kind generosity. This tremendously raised our spirits and we knew “going home” was in our very near future. The Ronald McDonald House was our “home-away-from-home” in more ways than one.
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