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At their 20 week ultrasound, Katie and Tyler Mungall found out their pregnancy would not be a typical one. They learned that their beautiful little girl, Poppy Marie Mungall, has some complications including club feet and some possible missing fingers on her left hand. This news took some time to process, but Katie and Tyler were grateful for an otherwise healthy baby girl and ready to take on the extra challenges.
They began to prepare themselves by extensively researching Poppy's diagnosis and coming up with ways to advocate for her. From clothing to baby carriers to baths, they researched the best ways to care for Poppy with her future casts in mind.
What they were not prepared for was Katie's amniotic sac rupturing (water breaking) at exactly 25 weeks pregnant.
Katie was rushed by ambulance from a clinic in Meridian, Idaho to St. Luke's Hospital in Boise. It was a whirlwind of a day filled with unknowns. They were given a 50/50 chance of going into extreme pre-term labor within the first 48 hour window.
The risk of complications if Poppy is born at 25 weeks are incredibly high. Thankfully, they made it through those first 48 hours, but they still have a long way to go. The plan is to stay at the Boise St. Luke's Antepartum Care Unit for several months. Katie is on strict bed rest and being constantly monitored in order to try to get her to as close to a full term pregnancy as possible. The ideal goal is 34 weeks. At 34 weeks, the risk of complications due to premature birth is extremely low. That is still 9 weeks away.
Luckily, Katie and Tyler have an incredible attitude and enthusiasm for this journey, as well as an amazing medical staff. Even in their short stay, they have made the nurses laugh and somehow got bumped up to the room with two windows. You heard that right, there’s two windows. They are very excited about this.
If you don't know Tyler and Katie, let me tell you a little about them. Tyler is wildland firefighter and jumps out of airplanes. “Smokejumper” is his official job title and he jumps out of the sky lots of times each year to protect our forests and homes from wildfires. I'm assuming the last 48 hours has been way more terrifying than any jump or wildfire has ever been. Yet, Tyler has been so steady and strong advocating for Katie's physical and mental needs. It has been beautiful to witness. He has his little support cave camped out in the room with Katie. He will not be leaving her side and sleeping on that little couch "bed" every night!
Katie is my vibrant, outdoor loving, world traveling, adventure seeking sister in law who encourages me (and others!) to do all the things with her. She is a go getter and a loud laugher; a boss babe and a doting auntie. Her business, Wildland Elements, is where she expresses her creativity with beautifully hand dyed headbands. It is going to be so hard for Katie to not do all the things while on bed rest, BUT she has such an optimistic attitude. She has endured so much in the last month and I can't wait to learn from her as she becomes a mom. She's pretty badass.
Lets be honest, there’s a lot of expenses that are going to be on the path in front of these awesome human beings: food, bills for MONTHS of hospital care for both Katie while she is pregnant and likely the NICU for Poppy once she is born, the cost of the ambulance ride, child preparation for whatever complications arrive (hopefully none), and all of the normal life stuff that somehow has to keep going on during all of this. Also, their insurance deductibles will restart in January, so that cost will be doubled. If you would like to help out and donate, please do. I know they appreciate the community that has surrounded them with love and encouragement throughout this journey. Keep sending them all the good vibes and big prayers too!
If you feel more comfortable with Venmo, Tyler's username is @ryan-mungall (Tyler's first name is Ryan)
They began to prepare themselves by extensively researching Poppy's diagnosis and coming up with ways to advocate for her. From clothing to baby carriers to baths, they researched the best ways to care for Poppy with her future casts in mind.
What they were not prepared for was Katie's amniotic sac rupturing (water breaking) at exactly 25 weeks pregnant.
Katie was rushed by ambulance from a clinic in Meridian, Idaho to St. Luke's Hospital in Boise. It was a whirlwind of a day filled with unknowns. They were given a 50/50 chance of going into extreme pre-term labor within the first 48 hour window.
The risk of complications if Poppy is born at 25 weeks are incredibly high. Thankfully, they made it through those first 48 hours, but they still have a long way to go. The plan is to stay at the Boise St. Luke's Antepartum Care Unit for several months. Katie is on strict bed rest and being constantly monitored in order to try to get her to as close to a full term pregnancy as possible. The ideal goal is 34 weeks. At 34 weeks, the risk of complications due to premature birth is extremely low. That is still 9 weeks away.
Luckily, Katie and Tyler have an incredible attitude and enthusiasm for this journey, as well as an amazing medical staff. Even in their short stay, they have made the nurses laugh and somehow got bumped up to the room with two windows. You heard that right, there’s two windows. They are very excited about this.
If you don't know Tyler and Katie, let me tell you a little about them. Tyler is wildland firefighter and jumps out of airplanes. “Smokejumper” is his official job title and he jumps out of the sky lots of times each year to protect our forests and homes from wildfires. I'm assuming the last 48 hours has been way more terrifying than any jump or wildfire has ever been. Yet, Tyler has been so steady and strong advocating for Katie's physical and mental needs. It has been beautiful to witness. He has his little support cave camped out in the room with Katie. He will not be leaving her side and sleeping on that little couch "bed" every night!
Katie is my vibrant, outdoor loving, world traveling, adventure seeking sister in law who encourages me (and others!) to do all the things with her. She is a go getter and a loud laugher; a boss babe and a doting auntie. Her business, Wildland Elements, is where she expresses her creativity with beautifully hand dyed headbands. It is going to be so hard for Katie to not do all the things while on bed rest, BUT she has such an optimistic attitude. She has endured so much in the last month and I can't wait to learn from her as she becomes a mom. She's pretty badass.
Lets be honest, there’s a lot of expenses that are going to be on the path in front of these awesome human beings: food, bills for MONTHS of hospital care for both Katie while she is pregnant and likely the NICU for Poppy once she is born, the cost of the ambulance ride, child preparation for whatever complications arrive (hopefully none), and all of the normal life stuff that somehow has to keep going on during all of this. Also, their insurance deductibles will restart in January, so that cost will be doubled. If you would like to help out and donate, please do. I know they appreciate the community that has surrounded them with love and encouragement throughout this journey. Keep sending them all the good vibes and big prayers too!
If you feel more comfortable with Venmo, Tyler's username is @ryan-mungall (Tyler's first name is Ryan)