The Jensen Family
Drexton Jensen was born two months early in Waterloo to Zack and Jocelyn Jensen via emergency c-section. Drexton had intestinal blockage at birth and required surgery at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. The couple from Cedar Falls have been together for twenty years and relied on each other more than ever to […]
The Mally-Nawaz Family
At week 26 of Sienna Mally-Nawaz’s pregnancy, doctor’s diagnosed her unborn baby with a congenital heart defect which was going to require at least three operations after birth. Already raising two young children, Sienna and her husband Jawad knew this was going to be a long, stressful journey. Sienna gave birth to Eva in October […]
The Swaby-Parks Family
The journey leading up to the birth of Eritrea-Freya Swaby was full of emergencies, bed rest, and a stay at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. First time parents Austin and Tonika went to their doctor in Mason City where Tonika was diagnosed with an incompetent cervix at 19 weeks. To avoid a […]
The Jordan Family
Brian Jordan and Tia Tennant went in for a 20 week ultrasound not expecting anything out of the ordinary. While Tia was getting her ultrasound it was discovered the baby was missing its nasal bone which could be a sign of Down syndrome. Brian and Tia traveled to Iowa City on the recommendation of the […]
The Novinger Family
At the five month mark of her pregnancy, Mya Novinger met with doctors to prepare for the worst. Doctors warned Mya that her baby girl was going to be born with many complications including monosomy 1p36, Shprintzen-Goldberg syndrome, and hydrocephalus. Mya held her faith and gave birth to Malaya on January 22, 2019. Doctors performed […]
The Rausa-Neira Family
Chris Neira and Brittany Rausa reside in Burlington, Iowa, but in the last five months, they’ve spent more time in Iowa City. Their daughter Jenny was born five months ago; three of those months have been spent at the Ronald McDonald House of Iowa City. “We’ve made three different stays at the Ronald McDonald House […]
The Gomez Family
Karyna Gomez describes her family as strong, loving, and caring. Even when times get tough, she says they always stay positive and look on the bright side. This type of outlook on life has encouraged the Gomez family as they faced the complicated birth of Kysaura in February of 2019. Kysaura was born with hydrocephalus […]
The Schuldt Family
Harper Schuldt was born in Iowa City at just 25 weeks to first-time parents Chance and Jessi. Residing in Van Wert, Iowa, which is almost 3 hours away from Iowa City, the young couple wasn’t quite sure what to do next. Harper has a long road ahead of her in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit […]
The Conrad Family
Twin sisters Evelyn and Alice Conrad each weighed just 1 pound 2 ounces when they were born 17 weeks early on October 3rd, 2018. Their mother, Rachel, initially went into labor one week earlier, “When I first started going into labor, they told my husband Darin and I that the girls would have a 50% […]
The Mueller Family
Karsey Mueller has spent more time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unity (NICU) than she did being pregnant. “Our daughter Bexley was born pre-mature at 28 weeks, and as of today, we’ve been by her side in the hospital for 39 weeks.” Karsey and her husband Adam reside in Montfort, Wisconsin, about 120 miles away […]
