Parent blog: Jessie and Ryan Venden
In their words
Jessie and Ryan Venden
Hometown: Davenport, Iowa
Our son, Jayce, was born at 34 weeks gestation in January 2017. On February 23, 2017, he was transferred from our local hospital and admitted to University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital for RSV – respiratory syncytial virus. At the time we thought this seemed like a pretty radical precaution. We would quickly learn, just in the next 24 hours, how necessary the move was and that we were exactly where our son needed to be–in the care of the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital's team.
We were told that typically with RSV it gets worse before it gets better. Our son's battle included respiratory failure, sepsis, pneumonia, many procedures to include intubation, and feeding issues, before his health finally started looking up. With every procedure and every decision we made on behalf of Jayce, the doctors and nurses of the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) were more than helpful and willing to spend as much time as needed answering my questions and addressing our concerns. We happened to be there during the opening of UI Stead Family Children's Hospital and I cannot say enough about the facilities and amenities provided to the families who have to make it their temporary home. When all was said and done, between the PICU and general pediatric floor, our stay ended up being the better part of a month. He would also require at-home nasogastric (NG) tube feedings, which thanks to the great staff we felt well-equipped and ready to take on. He would also require follow-up care through the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital satellite location in Bettendorf.
We could never have imagined how bad of a turn Jayce's illness would take and we were so fortunate to be where we were when it happened. There is no better care in Iowa he could have received than at UI Stead Family Children's Hospital. We are so incredibly grateful to his entire care team, and of course the PICU nurses who took such amazing care of our boy.
We can't recommend UI Stead Family Children's Hospital enough. The situations that lead us there are often times unfortunate and very scary, but our children could not be in better hands! The level and thoroughness of care is unparalleled.