Mother credits Valour Place with saving infant
By: Claire Theobold
February 11, 2017
Steve Beck and Ashley Beck with their children Daxton, 3, and Blayne, eight months, at home in Hay River, N.W.T.
Valour Place didn’t just offer Ashley Beck’s family a place to stay while her premature baby was in the hospital, she credits their support with saving his life.
“It had such an impact not just for us emotionally and financially, but the impact for the health of our baby. They helped us save him,” said Beck, holding back tears.
Beck was 24 weeks pregnant when she felt the first pangs of preterm labour. With local hospitals in Hay River, N.W.T., unable to provide care for such a severely premature baby, Beck was airlifted to hospital in Edmonton.
She spent 10 days on strict bed rest while she fought to hold on to her baby as long as she could. If her baby survived, it would be at least three months before they would be able to leave the hospital.
Beck says she wasn’t just worried for the fate of her unborn baby, but for her family at home, with a toddler and two other children who still need care and a mortgage and bills that needed to be covered.
“I remember laying in bed in the hospital thinking, this is a disaster. I’m terrified,” Beck said.
Her husband, an RCMP officer, drove down from Hay River with his corporal. After asking other officers in Edmonton for advice, he was directed to Valour Place.
After one phone call, Beck said staff at Valour Place – which provides members of the military, veterans and RCMP officers and their families a place to stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving medical treatment in Edmonton – had already arranged a room for her family with a key code so they could come and go as needed.
“I just started to cry, because when I saw it I realized it wasn’t just a hotel, it was going to be our home,” said Beck.
Baby Blayne was born on May 24, 2016, well in advance of his due date at the end of August.
Beck said they didn’t know if Blayne would live from one moment to the next, so her and her husband alternated caring for their toddler and staying with their baby at the hospital in shifts. Because they had a place to stay nearby at Valour Place, Beck says they were able to be there for every treatment.
“He never had to endure a procedure without us there to comfort him,” Beck said.
Nurses recommended “kangaroo care,” where parents cuddle their baby skin-to-skin to help Blayne recover. Beck credits being able to give their baby attention round-the-clock with his recovery, which Beck described as nothing short of miraculous.
Beck says she wasn’t just worried for the fate of her unborn baby, but for her family at home, with a toddler and two other children who still need care and a mortgage and bills that needed to be covered.
“I remember laying in bed in the hospital thinking, this is a disaster. I’m terrified,” Beck said.
Her husband, an RCMP officer, drove down from Hay River with his corporal. After asking other officers in Edmonton for advice, he was directed to Valour Place.
After one phone call, Beck said staff at Valour Place – which provides members of the military, veterans and RCMP officers and their families a place to stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving medical treatment in Edmonton – had already arranged a room for her family with a key code so they could come and go as needed.
“I just started to cry, because when I saw it I realized it wasn’t just a hotel, it was going to be our home,” said Beck.
Baby Blayne was born on May 24, 2016, well in advance of his due date at the end of August.
Beck said they didn’t know if Blayne would live from one moment to the next, so her and her husband alternated caring for their toddler and staying with their baby at the hospital in shifts. Because they had a place to stay nearby at Valour Place, Beck says they were able to be there for every treatment.
“He never had to endure a procedure without us there to comfort him,” Beck said.
Nurses recommended “kangaroo care,” where parents cuddle their baby skin-to-skin to help Blayne recover. Beck credits being able to give their baby attention round-the-clock with his recovery, which Beck described as nothing short of miraculous.