Support for Zara Renee's Brave Journey

I am writing this on behalf of my cousin and her husband, who are currently in Methodist Women's Hospital with their daughter, Zara Renee, who was born at 26 weeks gestation on May 17, 2024. I know that many of us were looking forward to celebrating Zara’s arrival with Courtney and Trevor before their due date on August 14, 2024. On Monday, May 10, what started as a routine check-up quickly turned into a life-threatening diagnosis, pre-eclampsia, that required immediate hospital admittance.

While the amazing doctors and nurses carefully monitored both mom and baby, a decision was made to perform an emergency C-section to save both Courtney and Zara’s life. Through the grace of The Almighty, Zara Renee Hueftle was born in the early hours on Friday, May 17th. With her first breaths, she let out a scream to let her mom and dad know she had arrived (just like her mom)! She is receiving excellent care in the NICU and is thriving. Courtney is recuperating with the support of her doctors, nurses, and her amazing husband, Trevor.

I remember when I first told Courtney that she could be pregnant and she didn’t believe me. Since then, listening to the excitement at the thought of her first child is a memory that I’ll always cherish. I know that this wasn’t the original plan, but I’m in awe at Courtney and Trevor’s resilience. They need all of their strength to guide Zara on her unexpected journey, given the circumstances.

Courtney and Trevor recently moved to Omaha to be closer to family, as they awaited baby Zara’s arrival. Courtney also started a new job a month ago, making her ineligible for maternity leave. On Monday, the doctors revealed to Courtney that she was not expected to survive. On Thursday, she’s expected to return to work.

Pre-eclampsia is a complication during pregnancy that is characterized by high blood pressure. If you are unaware of black maternal mortality, I urge you to visit https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/maternal-mortality/index.html#:~:text=Black%20women%20are%20three%20times,structural%20racism%2C%20and%20implicit%20bias.. Black women are 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications. Against all odds, Courtney survived and was able to make skin-to-skin contact with Zara on May 20.

Courtney should be spending time recovering from a near-death experience and create the bond with Zara. No human being should have to go through a traumatic, major surgery and return to work 6 days later. My hope is that anyone who takes time to reads this can send their love and support in any form so that these new parents can focus on baby Zara Renee and make tough decisions over these next few months. Thank you to everyone!