“When I was 24 weeks pregnant with Airam, I had an ultrasound in Louisville, Kentucky. My doctors there referred me to Cincinnati Children’s. They suspected Airam had a bladder outlet obstruction. I thought there is no way this is happening. There is no way he’s not going to make it. I was scared and I was crying. But deep down, even when the doctors told me that there was a chance that he wouldn’t make it past the first 24 hours, I had faith that he would be ok.

I came to Cincinnati and got amniotic fluid injections for about 10 weeks. Airam was born at 33 weeks and he was in the NICU for three months while getting dialysis. Since he couldn’t express his bladder, the urine backed into his kidneys and it caused his kidneys to fail. It caused a chain reaction. The next steps would be to just help him to continue growing because he needs a kidney transplant. To get his transplant, he must be a certain height and weight. We’re almost there, we just have to keep on pushing and I’m going to claim that 2021 is going to be his transplant year.

Airam is never fazed. When I was getting my amnio infusions, we would have to sit there and wait because he would try to push the needle out of my belly with his hands or his feet. He’s always been rambunctious and interesting and curious and loud and happy. He’s never, ever sad. If he doesn’t smile, then something’s wrong.

Having him and seeing how he deals with everything is just truly an example for me. When he was in the NICU, I would think about things. For example, he’s never been outside. He’s never seen the sun. Just little things like that would come into my head, all this stuff that he hadn’t seen yet. Yet, he was still just smiling and happy even when coming from surgeries. I know he is in pain, but his eyes would light up. After everything that he’s been through, he’s still just Airam, and I want to live like that, too. My hope for him is just to be happy and just to do what he likes to do.

I really don’t know what I would be doing if I didn’t have the Ronald McDonald House. I had to quit working when I was pregnant. I didn’t really have any money. I don’t know anybody here. It’s just me and Airam. I have no family or friends here. I could not imagine what I’d be doing to try to get back and forth from Kentucky or to find a place out here. I’m just so thankful that Cincinnati has this House for us and that it is so close to the hospital. That is really convenient. The staff is incredibly sweet. My first day here, they went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable and that I liked the room. Everything was clean and it was above and beyond.”

With your support, we can be here for families like Airam’s when then need life-saving care far from home. You can be the reason they are just steps away from that care with a gift today.