Our journey to meeting our son, Ezekiel, our little miracle, was anything but ordinary. I’m Madison, my husband is Brayden, and our is Ezekiel—we call him Zeke. We chose the name Ezekiel because we knew he needed a really strong name. It means “God strengthens,” and we thought that was very fitting.
When we first found out I was pregnant, we were so excited. Then, just a week later, I started bleeding. We called the doctor, who brought us in for testing. It was too early to see a heartbeat, but they told us, “You’re pregnant with twins. Everything looks okay at this point.” At our next appointment, though, they only found one heartbeat.
At 15 weeks, I was home one day and suddenly felt a gush. We rushed to the emergency room and waited for hours before being seen. The doctors said everything looked good at first, the baby’s heart rate was strong. But when they tested for amniotic fluid, the results showed that my water had broken. We were told that most women go into labor within 48 hours, and at only 15 weeks, there was nothing they could do for the baby. They sent us home.
The next day, my OB confirmed that the baby still had a heartbeat but no fluid—my water had completely broken. We were sent to labor and delivery to monitor for infection, which they said could be life-threatening. During that visit, we learned our baby was a boy. The doctor told us it was rare to experience such an early rupture, and we talked through our options with the pregnancy because of the high risk to my health. We stayed for hours in labor and delivery, then were sent home again, told to monitor for fever or pain and come back weekly. We sought multiple opinions and had many consultations. I was scared to move most of the time. Every week we just kept saying, “Let’s make it one more week.”
By February 3, I was 23 weeks and a few days, we went to St. Luke’s in Boise, where they admitted us. The doctor told us they don’t resuscitate until 24 weeks. He said I could either go back home or stay a few more days. I was already packed and emotionally prepared, so I stayed. They started antibiotics, and I remained in the hospital for six weeks before going into labor. By that time, I was 29 weeks, an absolute miracle after rupturing at 15 weeks. The delivery room was full of people, it was crazy. They kept say “this is the 15-week rupture.” I had a C-section and didn’t get to see Zeke right away, but I heard him cry. Brayden snapped a picture of our miracle baby boy to show me. He was so cute. The NICU team intubated him and took him away quickly. Later, they told me he had made it to the NICU—his first hurdle.
He had to be resuscitated, which caused a pneumothorax in his lung, and they placed chest tubes. When I was finally wheeled in to see him with IVs, bandages, messy hair and all, I kissed my hand, touched his incubator, and said, “Be strong.” He had a rough few days, but then he began breathing over the ventilator. On day four, they extubated him, and the next day I was able to hold him for the first time.
On day five, I was discharged. My dad, brothers, and Brayden moved my seven weeks of hospital belongings to the Ronald McDonald House. I dreaded leaving the hospital because it meant leaving my baby behind. But when Brayden showed me around the House, I thought, this is amazing and I can’t imagine going any farther than across the street from Zeke.
After seven weeks of hospital food, having a home-cooked meal, even just a cheeseburger, was amazing. To sleep in a real bed and take a shower in a normal bathroom felt incredible. One night, Brayden went downstairs to fill my ice pack and ran into another dad doing the same. They exchanged a look—both tired, both caring for their wives and babies! It was this unspoken camaraderie. We were all just surviving together, and the House made that possible.
If we hadn’t had the Ronald McDonald House, I don’t know where we would have stayed or how we would have coped. It was our source of comfort through everything. Being that close to Zeke made all the difference, and the House became our home-away-from-home. Everyone there has truly felt like family. Even now, the House continues to serve as our home base when we return to Boise for Zeke’s appointments. We truly couldn’t have made it without it.
~Burton Moore Family | Twin Falls, ID | 265 Nights at the House
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