Celebrating Ruth Lyons' impact: Children's fund helps local families in times of need
When you have a child in the hospital, all your time and energy is focused on making sure that child is as comfortable as possible.
The staff a Good Samaritan Hospital will take care of the rest, while also bringing joy during an otherwise stressful time.
“I needed to deliver at 34 weeks,” said Lindsey Jarvis, a Good Samaritan Foundation employee and mom of a NICU graduate. “So we knew he was going to be here. We thought it would only be a few weeks, but he was here for two months.”
The weeks after a baby is born are a blur for most parents.
Sleepless days and nights, learning about each other, and adapting to a lot of change.
That transition can be even more stressful for families with children in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Those first moments of a baby’s life deserve to be celebrated!
With the help of the Ruth Lyons Children’s Fund, those celebrations, however big or small, are possible.
“It really brings some normality to the situation,” said Kelvin Hanger, president of Good Samaritan. “Some are here, you know, one or two days and some up to three weeks and more. They don't have an opportunity sometimes even get out of here.
When weeks turned into months for Jarvis and her son, the staff at Good Samaritan marked each milestone moment.
“One of the nurses, and I still have them, would like, make footprints. A little ladybug out of a footprint and put the date on it,” said Jarvis. “And things I wouldn't even think to do that are keepsakes. I'll have forever.”
Jarvis has seen the importance of these special moments from both sides.
First as an employee, then as a NICU parent.
“It really just made all the difference. It really did. It kind of helped match the great care and the amazing people that work here. And then it's like the environment and all the things were there to help support and match, you know, the amazing work that they do.”
With your donations, the Ruth Lyons Children’s Fund helps purchase toys, books, blankets, and more to make those long hours at the hospital feel more like home.
Jarvis says she now looks back on those exhausting days fondly.
“Last night, when I was putting my son to bed, we were sitting in the rocking chair. His Ruth Lyons quilt was laying on the chair. He was playing with his journey beads that help mark the milestones that they do while they're here. We were reading a book that was provided by Ruth Lyons, and it was just so neat to see that even after all this time, there's still an impact. And it did make me think about, you know, just how many people out there are rooting for you.