The Love Family
When their daughter Zoey was born with a severe heart defect, the Love family knew they were in for a long journey. They traveled from Rock Island, Illinois to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, so Zoey could have three open-heart surgeries. While Zoey was in the pediatric cardiac ICU, they were able to […]
The Kurtz Family
When their second son, Wyatt, was born 15 weeks early the Kurtz family found themselves unexpectedly in Iowa City. Anticipating a long NICU stay, the Waukee family reached out to the Ronald McDonald House. “Having a room at the Ronald McDonald House took so much stress off our hospital stay. It allowed us to really focus […]
The Waterman Family
When Trisha and Scott Waterman’s daughter was born prematurely, they were filled with uncertainty. “Knowing we didn’t live close enough to the hospital to spend quality time with our daughter in the NICU and commute, the nurses gave us information about the Ronald McDonald House.” A room at RMHC-EIWI allowed them to stay close to […]
The Williams Family
Pregnant with her first child, Rochelle felt unprepared when her water broke 7 weeks early. “I honestly did not have my diaper bag ready. Just had my baby shower the weekend prior and nothing was unpacked.” She was put on hospital bedrest until her son was born a few days later. “Once my son was […]
The Weatherwax Family
When their infant son was life flighted to Iowa Healthcare Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Kayla and Ben arrived with just the clothes on their backs. “We did not have a toothbrush, any toiletries, anything other than what we wore that day. It was so nice to be able to take a shower and have toiletries […]
The Ward Family
The night that Daniel and I came to the Ronald McDonald House, I didn’t have shoes on my feet. I remember this detail clearly. I was in a wheelchair, still recovering from my premature daughter’s emergency delivery. I kept looking at my shoe-less feet, wondering how I’d get myself shoes when I couldn’t drive, walk, […]
The DeKeyrel Family
At just 26 weeks pregnant with twins, Kelly DeKeyrel’s water unexpectedly broke. Kelly immediately went on strict bed rest at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. When the twins made their entrance into the world at 27.5 weeks, Kelly and Brandon’s hearts swelled with both fear and hope. “We were told about RMHC-EIWI by our nurses […]
The Hutcheson Family
It was a Thursday when Davenport couple Jenny and Keenan Hutcheson welcomed their third child into the world, eight weeks ahead of schedule. Baby Remi was quickly whisked away to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at University of Iowa Hospital, her fragile form tangled in a web of tubes and wires. Her early arrival […]
The Berggren Family
My name is Karen, and I came to the Ronald McDonald House in October 2017. My son Toby, who was 15 years old at the time, was admitted to the eating disorder unit. We thought it would be a short week or two stay, but after meeting with Toby’s doctors, that wasn’t the case. My […]
The Hayward Family
Emmerson was born premature at just 28 weeks and 5 days gestation. Briana and Cameron Hayward were transferred from Allen Hospital in Waterloo to UnityPoint Health- St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. He spent two months in the NICU and was diagnosed with BPD/CLD and needed to remain on oxygen. They learned that Emmerson would […]
