Life can be unpredictable at times. You can go from the happiest moment in your life to the scariest moment within seconds. For Joe and Kelsey Humphries, that moment came just two days after the birth of their only child, Emma.

Emma began experiencing seizures just two days after she was born. She was flown to UNC Children’s Hospital immediately to see a specialist to run tests and treat the seizures she was experiencing. This resulted in a complete turnaround of emotions for the first-time parents. From an amazing moment welcoming their daughter to the world to instant stress and worry. After a number a tests at UNC, it was determined that Emma’s seizures were caused by trauma during childbirth and that she would need to spend some additional time at the Hospital.

Joe and Kelsey weren’t really sure what to expect going forward, long term or what was even going on at the time. It was a full whirlwind of thoughts, emotions and questions that they were trying to process. “Where are we going to stay?” Joe asked himself. The first thought was “we definitely want to make sure we are going to be able to be by Emma’s side throughout this entire process”. Luckily, a nurse at Cape Fear Valley Hospital in Fayetteville, NC mentioned the Ronald McDonald House and what a great resource it can be for people in their situation.

As a result, Joe and Kelsey made the trip to Chapel Hill and found a “home-away-from-home” at the Ronald McDonald House while Emma received care at the Hospital. The family ended up staying at the House for two weeks.

“The Ronald McDonald House became our home away from home. They provided us comfort, and everything that we needed so that we could put all of our focus on Emma and her health. Knowing we had somewhere comforting to go at the end of a long day at the hospital was an amazing feeling of relief. The House gave us support in one of the scariest times of our lives.”

Emma is doing better than ever and just celebrated her 2nd birthday on September 5th! We are so grateful to have been a small part of Emma’s journey and can’t wait to watch her grow and enjoy an exciting life ahead!