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Andraka’s premature baby got the specialized neonatal care he needed, thanks to donors
Andraka Royster and her newborn, Zhamonte, were among the first patients to take advantage of the new neonatology services Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital.
Baby Zhamonte was born premature at 35 weeks. He needed oxygen, something that previously would have required a move to another hospital. Thanks to your support of the Mercy Health Foundation and its efforts to improve neonatal care, the baby received the care he needed.
It was a very different story seven years ago when Andraka gave birth to twins at Lourdes. The babies’ heart rates were erratic and with no neonatal services available, they were transferred to a hospital in Louisville where they stayed for a month. Andraka was at their bedside, but more than three hours away from family and friends back home.
“Thank you very much for bringing these services to Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital. It really helped my family.”
“When the twins were born, my family could only visit once in a while,” Andraka says. “They had to drive back to go to work. It was hard to be up there with nobody.”
Andraka can only imagine how difficult it would be to be so far away this time with the twins at home.
“Because we could stay at Lourdes, I was able to spend time with the twins and still be there next to my baby,” she says.
After a five-day stay in the neonatal services unit, Zhamonte was able to go home with his family. Today, he's gaining weight and doing well because of donors like you.