The excerpt below was shared by new dad, Cody Beebe, about the birth of his and Andes’ daughter Travlyn on April 18, 2020.

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One week ago, we welcomed this little beauty into the world and we are so beyond in love – Travlyn Reed Beebe, born 6lb 5oz and 20 1/4 inches at Virginia Mason Memorial in Yakima. We figured that being born into a world where traveling is now limited, it’d be awesome if we could instill that sense of adventure from the start.

I never had any doubt, but Andes is truly a rock star and the respect I hold for her is immeasurable. After 10 hours of labor, Travlyn’s heart rate dropped drastically and our doctor and nurse went into action, calling for an emergency C section. I had to wait in a separate room while their team tried to bring her heart rate back up. It was the longest 20 minutes of my life, not knowing her fate and not being able to be with Andes. Finally we were reunited. They performed the surgery and afterward there were tears of joy all around. Trav’s umbilical cord had been wrapped around her neck twice, causing her heart to drop with every contraction.

I am just blown away by the actions the medical team took to keep our family safe. Not only do they put themselves at risk every day at work, but they do so in an effort to bring life into this world. We are forever thankful for them and their calm under immense pressure. We are now all at home and enjoying every second of this new season of our lives.

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The excerpt below was written by a grateful daughter about her father’s experience with Compass Care programs and services at Virginia Mason Memorial:

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My dad went to Virginia Mason Memorial (VMM) the second week of January with extreme weakness, inability to walk, and other evidence of failure to thrive. While he was there, I was hospitalized – probably driven by stress and dehydration. Dad came home the day after I was discharged. A few days later, VMM sent out a hospice doctor who put him into home hospice with us, where he had been living. However, when Veterans Affairs (the VA) learned that he was on hospice, they cut off my respite hours effective immediately, which I was depending on to manage his care.

Following the VA call two social workers from Virginia Mason Memorial showed up at my door. I called them angels of mercy because I was nearly in panic mode not knowing how I was going to manage dad’s care with only 4 hours of outside care a day. My husband was at work and my dad was not catheterized and was struggling to use his bedside urinal. It was impossible for me to move him because he was complete dead weight. The social workers immediately arranged for my dad to go to Cottage in the Meadow for the five day respite offered through VMM’s Compass Care program. Their compassion, efficiency, and professionalism simply took a weight off of my heart.

Once dad was at Cottage in the Meadow, it became evident that he could not return home. The social workers at Cottage, especially David, helped me understand what my options for his ongoing care were, including the financial part as well as other factors that were important to me. David also helped me get started with the Medicaid application, which was hugely helpful since I was pretty confused and frazzled by this point.  

And so began Dad’s long sojourn at Cottage in the Meadow. During his eight weeks there, his care was outstanding. Everyone, including Peggy who is the chaplain with heart, the social workers, the nurses, and even the cook went far beyond the call of mere duty to care, not only for dad, but for me. My gratitude knows no bounds. Not once did I worry about going back home after visiting with dad because I knew he was in the best of caring, compassionate, and capable hands.   

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Ryker is a 9-year-old from Selah who receives services at Children’s Village. He is nonverbal. This time last year Ryker used picture cards, pointing, grunting, and pulled his family to things he wanted. His speech therapist at Children’s Village recommended a communication device for Ryker and for the past year they have worked every week to teach Ryker to use the device to help express how he is feeling, what he wants, where he wants to go, what he did or ate, etc. The device is very similar to an iPad.

Ryker’s grandma Dawn recounted how their family ate out for dinner and she asked Ryker what he wanted. “He was looking at the menu, which didn’t have any photos, so I let him know the choices and that he would need to use his communication device to order what he wanted. He scrolled through his device and picked a cheese burger picture.” When Dawn asked him if he wanted anything on it Ryker went straight to the condiments section and selected the ketchup and pickles buttons. “Then he found the button for fries and hit that as well!” When the server came for their orders, Dawn hit the sentence button on the device so Ryker could communicate what he wanted to order. “She was very impressed with Ryker and how he was able to tell her exactly what he wanted and how he wanted it.” 

Because of speech therapy through Children’s Village and access to his communication device, Ryker has a voice. Without his device, Dawn explains that Ryker wouldn’t be able to tell his family about his day or what he wants to eat. He has come so far and is learning more every day. Dawn does not believe Ryker would be where he is today if it was not for the services he has received through Children’s Village.

Parents and guardians of children with special health care needs are transitioning to tele-medicine care with their providers at Children’s Village. The needs in our valley for more than 6,000 children who receive services annually at Children’s Village don’t stop for a pandemic. Continue to show your support for children’s health by giving to The Memorial Foundation today here.

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With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in our community, staff at North Star Lodge have been hard at work converting patients to telehealth visits – all while continuing to safely see most chemotherapy and radiation patients. The focus is delivering the safest care to an extremely vulnerable patient population. 

The navigation team and social workers are collaborating to identify patients who live alone and may need groceries or medications. They are reaching out to make sure these patients have their basic needs met. Last week one patient onsite for chemotherapy confided in a social worker that he was out of milk and afraid to go to the store due to the virus. During that very same appointment, the Cancer Care Emergency Fund allowed a North Star Lodge volunteer to purchase milk for him. What seems like a small gesture was actually something much larger that helped this compromised patient feel safe and have access to fulfil their needs.

Cancer does not stop just because we are in the midst of a pandemic.  It keeps on going.  Cancer patients need our community now more than ever because for so many of them the choice to delay treatment has risks that far outweigh COVID-19. But after the initial COVID-19 crisis is over, it’s projected North Star Lodge will be facing a surge of patients who have a delayed diagnosis of cancer because of the interruption to normal medical care and screening. 

Vulnerable individuals most at risk for the COVID-19 are also patients receiving life-saving therapy at North Star Lodge. The needs in our valley don’t stop for a pandemic. Continue to show your support for local cancer care programs like the Emergency Fund at North Star Lodge by giving to The Memorial Foundation today here.

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Elisabeth and Natalie were born on October 28, 2019, at Virginia Mason Memorial with heart and lung diseases. Elisabeth weighed 2 pounds, while Natalie weighed 1.5 pounds. The twins were cared for at Virginia Mason Memorial’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) – the only NICU within the Central Washington region – for 4 months until they were healthy enough to be sent home on February 28, 2020.  

Both Elisabeth and Natalie received vital feeding therapy during their stay. The feeding team through Children’s Village is comprised of speech and physical therapists, public health nurses, dieticians, and NICU nurses. This supports a monthly average of 6 infants and children in our community with feeding challenges. A plan is created for each baby during their stay at the NICU, posted at crib side, and updated as progress is made. As readiness for discharge approaches, the family is introduced to Early Intervention services at Children’s Village for ongoing services at home. The goal is to provide a seamless transition from the NICU to home with clinicians the family has become comfortable and familiar with during their hospital stay.

When the girls were discharged home, the Early Intervention services continued at Children’s Village and with a home based therapy model. Both the feeding therapist and physical therapist from Children’s Village have followed the twins from their stay at the NICU to their current appointments at Children’s Village. Elisabeth and Natalie’s family has expressed how amazing Virginia Mason Memorial’s NICU staff were in their care of the twins and shared they could not be more thankful for the NICU and Children’s Village teams that supported them. Today, the twins weigh nearly 12 pounds each and are doing very well!

The vulnerable population in Yakima includes the 8 babies being cared for today at the Virginia Mason Memorial NICU. The needs in our valley don’t stop for a pandemic. Continue to show your support of children’s health by giving to The Memorial Foundation today here.

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Virginia Mason Memorial’s Community Health department offers a variety of educational classes and resources designed to help you manage your health conditions and keep you on your path to wellness. From diabetes prevention to childbirth education classes, we’ve got you covered.

Because a healthier community is a stronger community.

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The program provides comprehensive services for families experiencing miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth and neonatal death at Virginia Mason Memorial Hospital.

Every year, in the spring and fall, the program sponsors a communal burial, laying to rest about 200 babies each year. The ceremony takes place under a beautiful tree that was planted at the first ceremony, 22 years ago. Entire families are welcome to participate, and are encouraged to scatter dirt in the burial plot, while kids are welcome to release environmentally-friendly balloons into the sky as a gift to their baby brother/sister.

Communal burial is for babies that are 20 weeks or younger and are born with no signs of life. It provides a place for families to grieve and find closure.  It is a wonderful ceremony for people who have had a loss and may not have had the opportunity to see their baby or provide a place of rest. 

In the words of a grateful mother, “My daughter and her husband have had a difficult time with the loss of their first baby, and this service really helped them. The service was handled very well. It gave them hope. She really appreciated the closure and now they have a place to go and remember with family.”

Thanks to you, our generous community, The Memorial Foundation has committed $15,000 to support Resolve Through Sharing through 2020.  

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I was hospitalized for 22 weeks because of premature labor, and to manage the 29 bladder taps on Carter.  When he was born October 26, Carter was very sick and placed on life support prior to being transferred to Seattle Children’s Hospital. The doctors felt Carter had little chance of living past a few weeks. Fluid was going into his lungs and belly. Nine days after resorting to a trial medication, he began to improve.  Carter stayed in the NICU until February before being allowed to come home.  Still, he had to fight for his life. He kept getting blood infections, and was taken by Life Flight to Seattle 10 times. Carter has been in and out of the intensive care unit several times.  Carter now has only 1 kidney and stage 3 kidney disease.  He has had 31 surgeries and many serious infections, and he is only 4 years old.  He is quite the fighter!

Carter’s Diagnosis is called Eagle-Barret syndrome (prune belly syndrome) he has no abdominal muscles and a history of recurrent urinary tract infections with sepsis and septic shock, as well as hydrocephalus, hip dysplasia, scoliosis, a heart murmur and severe blood pressure.  He takes a lot of medications and is fed daily through a G-tube.

Carter started therapy at Children’s Village when he was 4 months old.  He has benefited from speech therapy, feeding therapy, physical therapy; you name it.  Carter also has multiple serious other health issues. Because he is so fragile, a simple cold can become life-threatening for him.  Carter is our little fighter!  It takes all that the Village has to help us and Carter.  I am so thankful for my little boy and for Children’s Village, which has meant so much to Carter and to me.”       Carley Chaney, Carter’s Mom

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