Honest, Helpful, Compassionate

All four of our children were born at St. John's Mercy and all were good, positive experiences. The most remarkable was the birth of our second child, Sydney Michelle, in 2003. She was diagnosed at birth with a serious birth defect called Trisomy 13. The diagnosis, while heartbreaking, was quick and accurate. We were given facts on paper to read over. She only lived for 5 1/4 days, which were spent at St. John's Mercy - both in and out of the NICU. Their staff was phenomenal. We had a great genetics person, Noelle, who went over all the chromosome stuff with us many, many times until we understood what had happened and the odds of it happening again. They gave Sydney a baptismal gown. The nurse, Ana, came to our room at midnight when the rest of her patients were taken care of one night and helped take pictures with us and made T-shirts and with Sydney's footprints. She also arranged for a photography session with The Jeremy Project, which captured priceless family shots. Another nurse, Michelle, answered all our questions and was so kind to us. She helped us deal with any issues that arose. She went to bat for us when we needed her. Kathy, the family support person, arranged for us to take Sydney home for a bit one afternoon and had a hospice person meet us at home for the time we were there. She dealt with the insurance company for us, too. Since Sydney was born over Memorial Weekend in 2003. I think the doctors rotated more, and we got to meet each one in the NICU. All were honest and helpful, plus compassionate. The hospital arranged a place for us to sleep so that we could be with Sydney every minute that she was alive - not that we really slept much - but we had a quiet private place to spend our time with her. After she died, we were allowed to help bathe her, dress her, hold her as long as we wanted. Even weeks after we were home, I was still calling to ask questions and they were answered very honestly- even "silly" questions that were bothering me. Given that this baby's birth was so traumatic and the outcome was so bad, we still have the fondest of memories from our time with Sydney at St. John's Mercy. Their wonderful group of volunteers sent us the most beautiful cards, an angel ornament, and Mom and Dad bracelets to remember our first Mother's and Father’s Days after Sydney.

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