14 Feb “Two Minutes, Not Two Hours, Away”

Baby Sevyn was born extremely prematurely, at 24 weeks gestation. He weighed only 1 lb. 9 oz.

Immediately after he was born in Seaford, Delaware, he was taken to Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, almost 100 miles from the family’s home in Georgetown.

Since birth, Sevyn has battled complications due to his prematurity; including digestive complications which led to him needing a central nutrition supply line, and a hole in his heart that required surgery. He is also currently facing brain bleeding, which doctors are hopeful will resolve on its own.

Diamond came to the Ronald McDonald House of Delaware in September and quickly found a huge stress relieved: she was now just “two minutes, not two hours,” away from her premature newborn. “Now I don’t have to worry about transportation,” Diamond says “We can just call the shuttle to go to the hospital, and then call the shuttle to go back to the House.

“I don’t have any transportation,” says Sevyn’s mom Diamond about the distance from home in Georgetown to the hospital in Wilmington, “so I wouldn’t have been able to see my baby.”

Diamond’s older son, Josiah, is three years old and stays with her at the House. It means a great deal to her that Josiah is enjoying staying at the House, even though he is far from home: “Josiah LOVES the playroom. He loves to play with all of his friends and all of the toys in there.”

Diamond says the experience of having a medically complex preemie has made her stronger. Together, she, Josiah, and Sevyn are looking forward to the next step in their journey: Sevyn being discharged from the hospital and moving to a Residential Skilled Nursing Facility, Exceptional Care for Children. There, he will be in “baby school,” where he will do physical, speech, play, and occupational therapies.