MEET THE SMITH FAMILY The Ronald McDonald Family Room kept this Wentzville family close when it mattered most.
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hen Megan Smith checked into Progress West Hospital - where she normally spends her days as a nurse rather than a patient - for a scheduled C-section on August 2, 2019, she never dreamed of the journey that lay ahead. However, just minutes after her twin daughters Nora and Josephine were born, Megan and her husband, Josh, heard the frightening words: “We need to call Children’s right away.” And in that moment, their world turned upside-down. While doctors tried to stabilize Megan’s blood pressure, the babies were taken straight to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Nora had been born with a digestive tract abnormality that required surgery, and Josephine was in respiratory distress. Almost immediately, a transport team took Nora to St. Louis Children’s 27
Heartbeat • Fall/Winter 2020
Hospital via ambulance, and Megan’s husband, Josh, followed. With Josh and Nora at a different hospital, Megan was determined to see Josephine. She made her way to the NICU floor of Progress West, where the nurses agreed to let Megan hold her hand and stroke her face for just for a moment, and something miraculous happened. “They were preparing to intubate her,” recalls Megan. “I just remember feeling so overwhelmed and praying that God would let her oxygen stabilize as I spoke to her and touched her. From there, she continued to improve, and over the next few days was off of oxygen support altogether and able to stay by my side.” Meanwhile, during the first few days after the girls were born, Josh spent every waking minute
