Meet Owen and Noah Strong of Shoal Harbour

It is hard to put into words how a parent feels when their child has been     diagnosed with a serious illness.  And for families who don’t live close to the   medical care and resources they need, there is an added stress, distance. RMHC gives families with a sick child what they need most – each other.  

Being pregnant with multiples doesn’t necessarily mean that your pregnancy will be problematic. However, women carrying multiples do have a higher chance of developing complications such as high blood pressure and preterm labor. For this reason, all multiple pregnancies are considered high-risk.

Natasha Bailey and Grant Strong of Shoal Harbour, NL were expecting twins but complications meant an early hospitalization  in St. John’s 200km from home.  A few weeks later they discovered that one of the two babies, would require surgery as soon as he was born as his stomach was not attached to his bowels.   This meant an extended stay in St. John’s until the boys were due four months later.

“It was terrifying.  Nothing was going as planned. The boys were going to            require an extensive stay in the NICU .” Natasha said.

It was then that the doctors at the hospital referred the family to the programs and services offered at Ronald McDonald House.

“I had heard about it before but we were uncertain the house was going to be right for us. We were unsure how we felt about common spaces in the house and if this was really where he wanted to stay for such an extensive period of time.  But the care from the stay and the supports from other families in the house that were also dealing with a sick child made supporting our children so much easier. They became family and a familiar face at the end of the day. Every single program provided by Ronald McDonald House made the experience that much easier. The Home for Dinner program allowed us to not have to worry about what we were going to cook for supper. We could spend more time with Noah or Owen. It freed up time for us where we were needed the most. ”  Natasha continued.

“Noah and Owen were born early at 28 weeks and we spent Christmas at Ronald McDonald House.  It was hard but waking up in the morning to a visit from “Santa” was heart warming. It wasn’t about the gifts. It was just the thought behind it. The boys had been given Christmas Eve pajamas and we were able to get pictures of them in at the NICU. This just added to the special memories of our first Christmas together and it is one that we will never forget. “

Owen spent an additional nine months in intensive care after he was born and had four surgeries: two g-tube insertions, duodenal atresia repair and reflux repair.  Owen was also diagnosed with Down Syndrome.  The family require  frequent trips to St. John’s for medical appointments for both boys, at least once a month.  Owen has a long road ahead of him filled with medical appointments and treatment that will last his lifetime.  With the family living more than 200km away from our provinces’ only pediatric hospital, they have come to rely on the programs and services at Ronald McDonald House to keep their family together and near the medical care and resources Owen needs.