Mary and Brandon Jankowy came from Seneca, SC for the birth of their beautiful daughter Lilly. Mary was 7 months pregnant, so Lilly was born prematurely and needed to stay in the GHS NICU. Mary’s parents and friends did some research to help them decide on the best option for remaining close to Lilly while she was in the NICU. They had friends who had stayed here before and said wonderful things about it, but one of their NICU nurses actually made the referral and helped them with the necessary paperwork to be provided a stay here.
She says it was such a blessing that RMHC had a room available once she was discharged. “We were so lucky that they had a room available. This was before the renovations and there was not much turnover at the time, but thankfully a room had cleared just the day prior. While staying at RMHC we were provided with our every need, as well as being in such close proximity to our girl across the street at GHS NICU. What meant the most to me was Tasha going above and beyond to care for me as a mother, while I was trying to navigate my way through what our life was going to look like in the coming days, months, even years ahead.”
Mary says being at the house helped so much so that she could be with her baby every single day while in the NICU. She was able to do “kangaroo care” by providing milk for her and being present for all her milestones. Mary feels Lilly would not have made such a progressive recovery if they had not been so close by.
Mary was blown away by what RMHC provided for her. She felt like they never went without anything they needed which was a huge weight lifted during a difficult time with their newborn being hospitalized. When her husband had to return to work and was traveling out of state the house was a relief to him as well knowing that his wife was safe and close to their child. They were also happy to be able to share with other parents of NICU babies or children with special needs, because it felt like they were all essentially fighting the same battle and it was empowering for them to be able to come alongside one another on behalf of their children.
Mary believes RMHC is now a passion of theirs and they feel like a permanent part of the family here, saying they will continue to support any way they can, standing for and beside families in need.
