Baby Walker’s Five-Month Journey Home
Ashley woke up on Saturday, March 16, six months pregnant, with extreme back pain. Being used to muscle aches and strains from her job as a dental assistant and never having been pregnant before, she assumed everything was normal. Then the spotting started and the back pain became more intense. Her husband, David, suggested they go to the hospital.
They arrived at Banner Hospital in Susanville, where she was hooked up to monitors, but no contractions were registering. The medical staff checked the baby’s heartbeat, which was normal, and they made sure Ashley didn’t have a kidney or bladder infection. As they were writing up the pain to muscle spasms and telling her to make an appointment with her OB/GYN, she was preparing to go home. But then she threw up and started spotting again.
Baby’s Coming Today!
This time the doctor double-checked Ashley to discover she was dilated to 10+ cm, and they ascertained that the pain was back contractions (which is why it didn’t show up on the monitor). She and David were having a baby in a few minutes instead of in late June, like they’d originally planned. To complicate matters even further, an ultrasound confirmed the baby was breach, which meant an emergency c-section.
By the time David was suited up, Ashley was ready to deliver. Everything happened so fast, she never even heard Walker cry when he was born, as the team whisked him out of the room to intubate him to help him breathe. Fortunately, David was able to see (but not touch) Walker for a few hours before the transport team from Renown Children’s Hospital arrived to take him to Reno. It was a different story for Ashley.
“I didn’t get to see Walker for three hours after he was born, but I knew he was going to be okay,” she says.
Weighing only 1 lb., 8 oz., Walker was too small to be careflighted, and they weren’t sure he would survive the hour-long drive to the hospital.
“They brought him in, and I said my goodbyes,” she says. “And then I waited for the phone call to let me know he made it (to Renown) and that he was alive.”
Walker was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Renown by Saturday evening. But Mom had to stay in Susanville for two more days to recover from her c-section; she wasn’t able to see Walker at Renown until Monday.
Over the last five months, Walker has had so many tests, so many procedures and even CPR.
“We watched as 20 people came into that room to bring him back,” Ashley says, her voice full of emotion. “I can’t thank the NICU nurses enough. They’re wonderful; I couldn’t do what they do.”
Home Away From Home
Since Ashley and David live an hour and a half away from the hospital, a social worker told them about Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern Nevada (RMHCNN) offering them a place to stay only a few minutes walk away from the baby’s isolate in the NICU. David took care of Ashley as she recovered for the first six weeks, but then he needed to get back to start a new job. Ashley stayed close to Baby Walker, while the high school sweethearts traveled back and forth to be together. 
While RMHCNN provides a place for families to stay as their children recover, for Ashley, it was much more than a room and a bed. Coming home each night meant being able to spend time with other parents who understood, as they were all going through similar experiences.
“We would sit at the dinner table or the back patio and hear each other’s stories,” she says. “A lot of the kids would go in the playroom, and it was nice hearing kids just being kids and parents being parents.”
She says she also appreciated that they were able to provide assistance to each other. “One lady was by herself with two kids, and I was able to help her out,” she says. “
One of the other moms found out I was a first-time mom, so on Mother’s Day, she brought me some cookies, which was really nice.”
Ashley is also grateful for the RMHCNN staff members, who got to know her and her schedule, taking time to hold her hand along the way. She was hoping to bring Walker home on her birthday in early August. While that didn’t happen, she was surprised to open her room door to find a birthday card waiting for her. “I don’t know if they overheard me talking about how disappointed I was or what, but that card really warmed my heart,” she says.
Walker finally went home to Susanville on August 10 — just a few days after Ashley’s birthday. The RMHCNN staff is so glad the family is home, and we’re looking forward to keeping up with Walker’s progress. Before they left, Ashley promised to stop by for visits when they’re back in town for his medical appointments.
“It has been a rollercoaster journey, and I’m so thankful that I could come home to the Ronald McDonald House for breaks in between being with Walker,” she says. “Thank you, Ronald McDonald House, for everything you guys do.”
