While many families were gathered around the table for Thanksgiving 2022, the Hopsons were preparing for the birth of Noah and Emily. The catch? The precious twins were actually due around Valentine’s Day 2023!
Doctors had diagnosed a slow leak in mom Jasmine’s amniotic sac at 24 weeks, which could lead to pre-term labor. The Hopsons were understandably concerned, particularly about the babies’ lungs, which wouldn’t fully develop until 30 weeks.
After a month of bedrest, Noah and Emily were born. Thankfully, the twins only had to be on a ventilator for two days! Once Jasmine was released from the hospital, her first priority was being with her babies as much as possible. That’s where your support of RMHCA comes in!
Any gift that you make towards RMHCA’s mission helps us run the Ronald McDonald Family Room at UAB Women & Infants Center, an oasis of calm and rest within the NICU.
“The Family Room is truly needed because it helps take the load off the parent. Everything that you give counts towards providing lunch and snacks so I don’t have to spend extra money in the cafeteria. We have laundry machines to wash our clothes, or housing if we’re traveling from far away,” Jasmine explains.
The Ronald McDonald Family Room is open to parents of NICU patients 7 days a week.
“I’m able to be here every day with my babies. I can also catch up with the doctors when they make their rounds to talk to them about how Emily and Noah are progressing,” Jasmine says.
Jasmine’s husband, mother and mother-in-law are also able to visit the NICU to support her, Noah and Emily.
“The whole situation can be very stressful so having the support system of family means so much,” Jasmine says.
While Jasmine has not had to use one of the three sleep rooms in our Family Room, she knows other parents who have benefited from the chance to rest. Sharing her situation with other NICU parents even put her mind at ease.
Giving parents the space to take care of themselves, so they can take care of their baby, is the ultimate purpose of the Family Room.
“The Family Room gives me a break because it’s set up more like a home. You don’t feel like you’re in the hospital,” Jasmine says. “I appreciate it, it has helped me out tremendously.”
How To Help
You can help families like the Hopsons who need our Family Room! Click here to learn more about making a gift or donating supplies for this vital program.
