New mom details exceptional experience even when delivery didn’t go as planned


While an emergency Cesarean section hadn’t been a part of Jonnie and A.J. VanKleek's birth plan, they were thrilled with the five-star care they received at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph.

"My husband and I literally fell so in love with this hospital we constantly tease that we wish we could move into the facility and fell in love with the whole experience," posted Jonnie about the recent birth of their son, Elias, at the NewLife Center at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph.

The first-time mom gave special shout-outs to:

-OB/GYN Jonathon Scrafford, MD, "for delivering my son and performing a flawless C-section even though I was absolutely terrified."

-Teresa Craddock, MD, "for grabbing my face and calling me a mama bear and reassuring me the toughest decisions are made for our children."

-Melissa Sandberg, DO, "for gentle hands and making me feel heard in the pre-delivery room" and for Corbit Bayliff, DO, for being so kind and communicating so quickly with my doctor to get things rolling quickly, but efficiently."

-Certified registered nurse anesthetist Brandon Fields, "who literally made my C-section bearable at all by keeping my mind busy with Disney songs and jokes...would have not been able to do any of this without him."

-“Literal angel” Amy Vega, RN, "who cared for every single need I had... supporting me the whole night through."

-Marissa Robinson, RN, for her concern about their son’s breathing, "even though he ended up being fine."

-Tammi Birney, RN, "for coming in only when necessary so we could get some sleep as new parents."

-Jenny Van Tassell, RN, "who let us sleep in before discharging so we could somewhat function."

-Mandi Lubbers, RN, Amanda Messenger, RN, and physician assistant Keley Sulawske "for listening to me about my postpartum anxiety worries."

-Neonatologist Mohammed Ansari, MD, "for reassuring us our son’s breathing was alright."

-Physician assistant Yeni Rodriguez "for helping Dr. Scrafford during my pregnancy checkups."

-Lactation specialist Christie Rowland for “helping us feed our son when we couldn’t breastfeed, but so desperately wanted to" and her teammates "Amy Ellington, Lynel Kupec, and Michelle Dold, for making my breastfeeding journey possible and always being so supportive."

-The kitchen staff "for always providing delicious, hot food!"

"Seriously, giving birth in the hospital was the best experience I could have ever possibly had, even though my birth plan was entirely out the window because of the emergency C-section, and I will definitely have my next child there," she wrote. "The rooms were comfortable, the staff was great and I got my son out of all of that. 100 stars if I could!"

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