Meet Joey, Courtney, and Sicily. Both individually and as a family, they are strong and compassionate. They have overcome extreme medical struggles and use that as inspiration to give love and hope to their community.
Joey and Courtney were high school sweethearts, destined for a lifetime and a family together. When Joey was only 18, he was in a rollover accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. On a ventilator and unable to talk, the first question Joey scribbled on a notepad was if he and Courtney would be able to have children someday. Joey and his family would spend significant time at Denver’s Craig Hospital, one of the nation’s top spinal cord injury rehabilitation facilities. Because of that extended stay out of town, keeping families together during a crisis is a cause that Joey and Courtney say is close to their hearts.
Flash forward 17 years and you find the couple happily married and volunteering weekly at the Tucson Ronald McDonald House. Still trying to start a family after years of unsuccessful fertility treatments, they were on their last chance; one more attempt at a miracle.
In April 2013, the great news came that Courtney was pregnant. Things progressed normally until August 6. Only 20 weeks into her term, Courtney’s water broke. The doctors told her that she needed to prepare for the worst. While most mothers deliver within six days of their water breaking, Courtney miraculously put off delivery for 11 more weeks, most of that time spent on bed rest at the University of Arizona Medical Center. There she received excellent care and endured with the strength of her family beside her.
Still nine weeks early, little Sicily Elisabeth was born by emergency C-section on October 28, ready to begin her fight for life. On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being not viable, the doctors gave Sicily an initial rating of 1. Joey and Courtney were with her in the NICU throughout the next two months, leaving only to eat and refresh. Thankfully, the Ronald McDonald Family Room was only steps away, providing them coffee, snacks, and a quiet place to rest and recharge.
On December 23, Sicily was released from the hospital, and for the first time these three amazing individuals went home as a family. Says Joey, “It’s faith renewing to know how many people there are that care. We couldn’t have done it without the support of our friends, family and this community.”
For families like Joey and Courtney’s, the Ronald McDonald House Charities will always be there to ease the financial burden, to provide hope and comfort, and to support the inspiring mothers, fathers, and children that cross our doorsteps every day.
