Foster-Thomas Family

December 27, 2023

The Foster-Thomas Family stayed at our MercyOne House from December 4, 2022 to February 24, 2023 - a total of 82 nights. Christen and Grant are from Franklin County, IA, about an hour and a half away. When Christen's water broke early, her and Grant were brought to MercyOne Hospital via ambulance. Once they arrived, doctors tried for five hours to delay the birth, but their daughter had other plans and was born at 1:06am on December 3rd, 2022. She was three pounds, twelve ounces and thankfully had no other complications. She passed many of her early milestones, but struggled with oral feedings. She stayed in the MercyOne NICU during this time, while mom and dad stayed at RMH inside MercyOne, which is just steps from the NICU. 

They said, "The RMH has provided an invaluable service by simply giving us a place during this time. We live about 90 minutes away, so commuting would have been a nightmare. The services of the RMH have meant that we can still be close to our baby at all times. We've also appreciated the meals, as that means one less thing we have to worry about. The community is also a bonus; it's incredibly valuable to have other NICU parents to talk to, to celebrate with, and commiserate with. We've made some new friends who we never would have met without the RMH."