The Wood Family
Chloey Wood was on her way to work when she immediately felt something was wrong. She was pregnant and terrified something had happened to her baby. Chloey and her husband Austin were transferred from their home in Waterloo, Iowa to UnityPoint Health- St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. Their daughter, Gabriella, was born 12 weeks […]
The Kaufman Family
Taylor and Levi Kaufman found comfort in the Ronald McDonald Family Room at St. Luke’s Hospital when their son, Leo, was born at just 26 weeks. Leo spent 85 days in the NICU, and Taylor spent 80 of those days in the hospital by his side. The couple were 60 miles away from home and […]
The Carlson Family
Chad Carlson’s bear hunting trip was put on the back burner when his wife, Lindsay’s, routine prenatal appointment turned into an emergency procedure. The couple from Ottumwa, Iowa, learned that their baby was having complications, and he would need to be delivered at 33 weeks and five days. Their newborn son, David, spent the next […]
The Jenkins Family
The Jenkins Family adopted Andrew from Hungary when he was 5 years old. He was born with a bone marrow disorder that required him to have regular blood transfusions and steroids until his recent bone marrow transplant. After returning to the states, the Jenkins established his medical care team at the University of Iowa Children’s […]
The Junge-Housman Family
Olivia Housman was born at just 24 weeks gestation due to complications in Jodi’s pregnancy. As what is known as a micro baby, she stayed a total of three and a half months at St. Luke’s Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before Olivia was born, Jodi didn’t realize that St. Luke’s had a Ronald McDonald […]
The Williams Family
Emma Williams was born in Iowa City at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, over 120 miles away from her home in Cambridge, Iowa. Her parents, Megan and Cory, knew Emma was going to have an extended stay at the hospital due to complications at birth. Fortunately, they were able to stay at […]
The Meyer Family
Jake and Julie Meyer have a unique experience: they have stayed at two different Ronald McDonald Houses in Iowa. In 2017 the couple from Grinnell, Iowa welcomed their first child into the world; a son named Brody. When Julie gave birth on April 5 in Des Moines, Brody developed severe meconium aspiration syndrome. After staying […]
The Gray Family
On November 7, 2020 during the global COVID-19 pandemic, Halie Gray gave birth to her daughter Esmie at just 31 weeks into the pregnancy. The newborn was transferred to the NICU at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, and Halie, now a single mother, didn’t know what to do next. There was no […]
The Fischer Family
Carolyn and Louis Fischer from Dubuque, Iowa knew ahead of time their newborn son Ray was going to have complications at birth. Doctors were projecting a 10 to 12 week hospital stay and the Fischers figured traveling the 172 mile round trip from Dubuque to Iowa City would be doable. However, everything changed two weeks […]
The Murray Family
Despite being an hour away from their home in Eldridge, Iowa, Dustin and Emily Murray felt part of a community thanks to the Ronald McDonald House of Iowa City. Their newborn son Grayson was born early at 35 weeks and had to be placed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the University of […]
