I’m participating in the RBC Race for the Kids to raise funds to support the Ronald McDonald House and the services they provide for families, like mine. Please consider joining us in supporting this organization!

My family (like many) have a story and it truly was a miracle that got us we are where we are now. It's not a short story, so to keep it simple I will say we benefited greatly from the support of the Ronald McDonald House during our first year with Jayce. Getting meals and having a place to get away to take a breath was such a blessing! We are so excited to participate in the walk to support this organization, give back, and celebrate how far we have come!

Our Story:

Jayce was small for gestational age (also called intrauterine growth restriction) and I had to be induced at 38weeks. He had some struggles initially with blood sugar regulation and developed significant jaundice requiring treatment at the hospital before we went home. The doctors also heard a heart murmur and after getting an echocardiogram he was found to have some congenital heart defects including a VSD (ventricular septal defect) and a PDA (patent ductus arteriosis). We were told these would be monitored, but that he was stable and we were able to bring him home as normal. After leaving the hospital we had cardiology and pediatrician visits scheduled in the next couple days and our journey began. During our first 5 months we had more weeks with MD visits than without them - actually we had something for him most/every week during that time (checking his growth, cardiac status, etc).

We had a cardiology recheck when Jayce was 5 weeks old and went into the appointment knowing he would have another echo scan. At the time we thought that at worst they may determine he needed medication, or at best that he was remaining stable and we would just stay the course and continue to monitor it. To our utter shock we ended up being told that we could not go home, but that instead he would need to be admitted to the ER and transferred via ambulance over to the cardiac ICU at Childrens Minneapolis. They discovered in that echo that as his PDA was closing it affected his aorta and he developed a coarctation of the aorta (which is were there is a resulting blockage), which for him was severe and causing decreased heart function. We had no idea this would be in the realm of possibility of what we were walking into! Jayce would need surgery before we could return home. How heartbreaking!

At Childrens Hospital he underwent a surgical repair which involved removing the blocked segment of the aorta and reconnecting the remaining ends together. Afterwards the doctors showed us a photo of how blocked it was and we found out then that it had been 90% blocked. It was astonishing! At the same time during our stay in the hospital we found out that he had the start of an umbilical hernia, but that it was nothing serious (usually). Later in our story however, his hernia became incarcerated (where the intestine gets stuck in it) which meant an ER trip. Fortunately it reduced so we didn’t need immediate surgery, however the next week he underwent surgery to repair the hernia at which point he was 14weeks old. After his second surgery we got into a less intense phase, getting to space out our follow up appointments with MDs, and eventually onto a “normal” appointment schedule. It was a long first year together as a new family, but we made it!

Jayce is now doing great! His heart function is normalized and his VSD is healing. We are so grateful! Throughout the adventure (which was truly hard, but has also given us as parents battle tested spirits able to handle anything) we were blessed by prayer warriors joining alongside us and God’s total provision throughout. God unbelievably paved the way in small (often unknown at the time) ways. He was always with us making all the shocking, challenging, heartbreaking, and exhausting moments we journeyed through bearable, and allowed us to see Him more and provide a testimony of His glory. Again, so grateful!

Looking at Jayce now you would never guess all he went through. He is so strong and active in the world. I cannot wait to see what he will continue to do! From ventilators to unstoppable, go Jayce go!

Thanks for reading our story. Please consider joining us in supporting Ronald McDonald House and families from across the Midwest. The Ronald McDonald House located in Childrens Hospital was such a blessing to us - the free meals and place to go was invaluable and I can't image it not being there. We are so excited to walk to support this organization, give back, and celebrate of how far we have come!