2012
Crossroads Annual Report
Page 13
welcoming life
For weeks, Scott Blue had teased his wife, Lauren, that she wasn’t just pregnant
with baby No. 5, but baby No. 6, as well.
Neither could believe it when he turned out to be right: The Blue family was
indeed expecting twins. They also couldn’t believe it when those bundles of joy
arrived eight weeks too soon.
“
There had been no complications throughout the pregnancy, and the
doctor said things were going great,” Mrs. Blue says. “We hadn’t even given
thought to the possibility that our babies might need to be in the neonatal
intensive care unit [NICU].”
The Blues walked into Methodist Mansfield Medical Center at 11 a.m. on
Christmas Day, and by 1:45 p.m., Isabella (Bella) and Bennett (Bennie) had made
their grand entrance. Both, however, weighed less than 4 pounds and required
specialized care in the hospital’s newly renovated and expanded Women’s
Pavilion. As part of the expansion project, the hospital’s level IIIA NICU was
better equipped to help premature infants grow strong and healthy.
“
Methodist Mansfield’s NICU is phenomenal,” Mr. Blue says. “It seemed like there
were 50 people taking care of our daughters. We knew they were in good hands.”
The Blues’ delivery experience was also enhanced by the new, larger patient
rooms that can be used for both labor and delivery and are designed to help
moms recover more easily and accommodate visitors.
The Blues welcomed Bella and Bennie home after 29 days in the NICU. Almost
a year later, the babies have caught up with other infants their age and have
experienced no developmental delays. Bella is still the feistier of the two, and
Bennie is as good-natured as ever.
When Dec. 25 rolls around this year, it will definitely be a merry first Christmas —
and a happy birthday — for the Blue family babies.
LED BY ROB
SCHULZ, THE
WOMEN’S
PAVILION CAPITAL
CAMPAIGN
COMMITTEE
RAISED MORE
THAN $850,000
FOR THE
EXPANDED
FACILITY.
LEARN MORE AT
Foundation.Methodist
HealthSystem.org
.