Awaited for so Long, Arrived Too Soon
Stacey and Adam Kuehn had been hoping for five years to start a family. In July of last year, they learned Stacey was pregnant and that their long wait would soon be over. Just a few short weeks later their joy doubled when they learned Stacey was carrying twins. Stacey says she was enjoying a happy, uncomplicated pregnancy. Then, on November 25th, in a routine appointment, Stacey found out she was having contractions.
Stacey and Adam left their hometown of Juneau, WI and head for St. Mary’s hospital in Madison. She was put on bed rest, and the contractions stopped until December 4th. That day, their daughters, Madyson and Makayla, were delivered by emergency C-section. Born thirteen and a half weeks early, the girls weighed just 2 lbs., 1 oz., and 1 lb. 14 oz., respectively.
The next few hours and days would begin to reveal the challenges ahead. “From breathing problems, to heart issues, to brain bleeds, we encountered it all,” says Stacey. Makayla’s bleed turned into hydrocephalis and required two surgeries.
What all this also meant in a practical sense, was working out how to manage when their home was an hour and a half away. Like it or not, Adam would have to return to work soon. In the midst of their worry and concern for the girls, questions about how they’d manage the commute or they’d be able to afford long hotel stays entered their minds. Stacy writes, “Little did we know there was a godsend a few blocks way.” A social worker at St. Mary’s let them know a room was waiting at the Ronald McDonald House.
Stacey recalls, “Our first night at the House was December 8, 2009. I remember it snowed 18 inches that night.” She couldn’t have foreseen it that night, but the Ronald McDonald House would be her home for Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, and even St. Patrick’s Day. At long last, Madyson left the NICU on March 13, Day 99, as Stacey says, weighing 7 lbs., 7 oz. Makayla went home just a week later on March 20, Day 106, weighing 7lbs., 10oz.
Now that she’s able to think about it all, Stacey looks back on those first days as what she refers to as “a humbling time”. “It is the hardest thing we have ever been through but it amazed us how much others wanted to help. Having the Ronald McDonald House was a blessing. When I’d return at night after 10 plus in the NICU, there was hot meal, a warm shower, a place to lay my head down, one less thing to worry about.” She goes on to say, “The volunteers are great, and willing to help however they can. It also helped to talk to the other families at the House. It reminded me I wasn’t alone and that kids are so resilient and such fighters.”
Stacey and Adam say that they have a great story to tell the girls when they are older and that they plan to visit their friends in the NICU and the Ronald McDonald House in years to come. “These people helped us through a tough time and we will never forget them or their love.”
