NICU

The day Maddy was born, we were told she had bleeding on both sides of her brain and her kidneys were showing signs of failure. They only gave her one day to survive, but our little angel fought and lived another two days.

Everything changed at the time of his birth. Only then did we begin to understand the magnitude of his sickness and the challenges that were ahead. After he was born, his doctors could finally give us more information about the severity of his condition. Reality set in once we had some concrete facts.

I hope for happiness, health, love, and wellbeing. I hope life is fair to him. That he surrounds himself with people who see his worth and respect him. Friends who cherish him. I hope he dreams of all the possibilities and ways he can contribute to changing the world.

Testing after she was born revealed that Aurora had a gap between her valve and heart, and that she had Trisomy 18.

By Desiree JoynerMommy to RaidenHypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and 16.1 chromosome deletionJune 24 – August 1, 2024 From the start I always wanted a boy. When I found out I was pregnant in October of 2023, I couldn’t believe it. I was so happy to find out his due date was in July because my…

By Lisa SmithMommy to Aidan & ThomasMonochorionic Twin Pregnancy, sIUGR, born premature2024 At just 17 weeks pregnant with twins, we learned we had a monochorionic twin pregnancy (sharing one placenta) that resulted in selective intrauterine growth restriction (sIUGR). Because of this, there was a chance that the smaller baby (baby A/Aidan) would not continue to…

For the second year, On Angels’ Wings provided Halloween pictures to families with a child in the NICU during the week of Halloween for both Springfield, Missouri hospitals. New this year, the organization also provided NICU Halloween pictures to patients and their families in the Mercy St. Louis hospital too! This additional service is sponsored…

By Mya BerryMommy to WalkerBorn premature at 28 weeks, weighing 1 lb 7 ozJune 2023 Walker was our rainbow baby, a little miracle after months of trying and the heartbreak of a miscarriage. We were beyond excited and hopeful, feeling like everything was falling into place. My pregnancy had been smooth, and every doctor’s visit…

By Cassandra SheltonMommy to MicahBorn premature at 24 weeks in May 2023 On the morning of May 5th, everything seemed ordinary. I was nearly 24 weeks pregnant, feeling grateful and hopeful, as any expectant mother would. But that night, I felt severe cramping and, realizing something was wrong, I went to the ER. Part of…

By Savannah MandellMommy to FredBorn premature at 25 weeks in January 2023 When Matthew and I married on January 19th, we were full of hope and excitement. We had an anatomy scan scheduled for our baby boy just hours after our wedding. We were told he was smaller than expected for his gestational age, but…