NICU stay for Willa

Willa Jane Nelson was born on Wednesday, June 14th weighing over 9lbs & seemingly healthy. Three short hours after her birth, she was whisked away to the nursery after noticing that she was turning gray/blue in color. She was in the nursery at St Croix Health for approximately five hours while they tried to stabilize her oxygen levels, but eventually both Willa and Kayla were transported via ambulance to Children’s and United Hospital in St Paul, MN.

Willa has been hospitalized in the NICU at Children’s ever since. She has been diagnosed with Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn (TTN) and Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN), both of which are treated with oxygen support and time. She also has a small hole in her heart, which we dont know what the exact treatment is yet. The length of time she will be admitted is still unknown, but her physician estimates she will be here for another week. Willa has already made huge strides since her arrival, her biggest being that she graduated from her CPAP machine to a small nose cannula. In order for us to take her home she has to be off of oxygen support completely without issues for 24+hrs, have a consistent respiratory rate of 60 or below, breastfeed or eat from a bottle, and gain weight.

On top of the obvious hospital bills we are about to be faced with, we are worried about where we’re going to stay in the cities and for how long, gas if we have to travel back & forth from home, & daycare for Eden. As of right now, Josh and Kayla are able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House right above the NICU at Children’s, but our length of stay is up in the air. We are only approved to be here until Monday morning, at which time we will either be extended (depending on room availability) or be told we have to find a room elsewhere/return home. Kayla is, of course, on maternity leave, but Josh has to unfortunately return to work on Monday, June 19th as all of his time off is unpaid.

Thank you for all the love and support our little family has received over the last few days. All of this was extremely unexpected and there was no way for us to prepare (financially or mentally), but having people to reach out to and lean on will help us through this treacherous time.