When Marcy and James Walker found out they were having twins, they knew there was a chance there could be complications. For months, Marcy took every precaution to ensure a smooth delivery: she ate healthy, got exercise and tried to limit stress as much as possible. But as many NICU parents can attest, despite all their efforts, things didn’t go as planned.
At 23 and a half weeks, twins Beauregard Lee and Genevieve Rose were delivered by emergency C-section more than 16 weeks ahead of schedule. During their five month stay at the NICU, the Ronald McDonald Family Room at St. Luke’s gave Marcy and James the chance to stay close to their children while continuing to work.
At 5:30 every morning, Marcy would visit Beau and Genevieve before heading to her job, and as soon as the work day was over, she was back in the NICU with the twins. Thanks to the free meals, sleeping rooms and other resources provided by the Family Room, the Walkers could go straight from work to their children and skip the trip home, saving them time and allowing them to focus on the twin’s health.
While the NICU was the last place Marcy and James wanted to be, the Ronald McDonald Family Room made a helpless situation feel more controllable. “It turned a stressful, emotional, life-changing experience into a positive, manageable, life-changing experience.” Says Marcy. “The support here is indescribable.”
