How RMCHF Supported Jerica’s Family Through the Unexpected
When people go to the ER with extreme abdominal pain, the last thing they expect to hear is that they are six months pregnant. But for Jerica, that’s exactly what happened. Not only was she unexpectedly pregnant, but she was also about to give birth—three months early.
“When I found out I was about to give birth, I was at a complete loss,” Jerica said. “The whole experience was new and uncharted territory.”
That day, Jerica gave birth to a beautiful little girl named Phoenix. Phoenix weighed only 1lb 14 oz, and she was immediately admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Because Jerica gave birth so prematurely, her milk didn’t come in right away. Luckily, the hospital had donor human milk from our Mothers’ Milk Bank program to help nourish Phoenix, giving her the best start in life.
“I was so relieved that she had the nutrition she needed at the start of her life,” Jerica said.
The unexpected hospitalization and NICU stay meant finances for the family were getting tight. Jerica and her husband have four other children, needed to get the essentials for their new and unexpected daughter, and on top of all that, they started having car troubles. Life was starting to feel overwhelming.
“Everything was a mess. Our bills were really starting to pile up, and we were feeling stressed.”
But they weren’t alone. The family’s social worker checked in with them regularly and connected them with Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation again, this time to assist in covering the family’s rent, providing gift cards for gas and essentials for their new baby, and getting a car seat so they could bring Phoenix home safely.
“When a parent is feeling completely at a loss and has to leave their child in the care of someone else,” Jerica says, “having a community come together and say ‘let’s gather our resources and help’…all I can do is say thank you.”
For families like Jerica’s, having even just one bill paid can make a huge impact. That’s why this year, in celebration of International Day of Families, we’re calling on our community to help us pay as many of those bills as possible! These families are facing unimaginable health challenges with their children, and we want to see how much support we can give them. Covering anything from rent and mortgage to car seats and gas cards makes a big difference for these families. As Jerica says, we can help them feel like they are “reaching the light at the end of the tunnel.”