Ally and Chris Baird’s baby girl, Morgan Reese, was born with heart trouble. While at the hospital, Ally and Chris were given a Heart of Minky Mini blanket to pass along to their daughter. Written in Ally’s words, here is their story:
“On Tuesday, November 5th at McKay Dee Hospital, Ogden, Utah, we welcomed our 4th child, Morgan Reese, into our little family. Shortly after birth, things started to take a dramatic turn as it became increasingly apparent that Baby Morgan’s heart was not working as it should have been. After a few hours in the NICU in Ogden and with the diagnosis of Pulmonary Valve Stenosis, the decision was made to Life Flight her to Primary Children’s Hospital, where she could immediately receive urgent care in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.
It was in that turbulent moment that one of the nurses approached us tenderly with this Mini blanket provided by Heart of Minky, just moments before Morgan was flown to Primary Children’s Hospital. Ally, being a patient at McKay Dee and not able to make the trip with Morgan, was able to squeeze this blanket in her arms, and then to tuck it into the Life Flight bassinet just before separating mother and daughter, then they rushed Morgan off to be transported via helicopter to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Morgan continued to struggle as she arrived at Primary Children’s and underwent multiple heart procedures to save her heart. Eventually, Morgan’s heart quit. The doctors struggled for nearly 30 minutes to resuscitate her without success, and the decision was ultimately made to place her on ECMO (Life Support) in order to give us the chance to gather the family and say our goodbyes.
With broken hearts, we swaddled our sweet baby girl with this blanket, gathered our children at the bedside and tearfully watched as the medical staff attempted to make her as comfortable as possible.
As the day turned into night, and the estimated window of time we had left on earth with our baby expired, we proceeded to watch and pray as miracle after miracle unfolded before our eyes. Slowly, vital signs started to increase as Miracle Morgan started the fight of her life.
One week later, she has surprised every doctor and nurse and she appears to be on a miraculous path to meaningful recovery.
This blanket was donated to the Hospital by Heart of Minky which is an incredible program for babies who end up in the NICU. This blanket has been with our Miracle Morgan through every scare, heartache, worry, surgery, blessing, and has been the witness to countless miracles and tender mercies. While it might not seems like a big deal to many, for a family going through a trial like this, this blanket is so much more than a few pieces of sewn together cloth. It’s peace, hope, and comfort, when all seems to be lost.
Thank you Heart of Minky for providing peace to families during such traumatizing and difficult times.”
