When Jamie and Josh McMillan prepared to welcome their daughter, Joslyn, they knew there was a possibility she might need some time in the NICU.
Jamie had experienced a high-risk pregnancy and was receiving specialized care in Toledo, away from the family’s home in Adrian, Michigan. Doctors had prepared them for the possibility that Joslyn could spend several days in the NICU after she was born.
But nothing could have prepared them for what happened next.
Around 36 weeks into her pregnancy, Jamie developed preeclampsia and Joslyn was delivered by emergency C-section. Jamie experienced significant bleeding during delivery, and Joslyn was born in respiratory distress.
She needed to be resuscitated after birth and required significant respiratory support in the NICU.
“It was really hard,” Jamie said.
What the McMillans had thought might be a few days of observation became nearly a month of watching their newborn daughter fight to grow stronger.
Celebrating Every Step Forward
In the NICU, progress came one step at a time.
For Joslyn, one of the biggest milestones was coming off the ventilator.
“Once you’re on the ventilator, you have to ask permission to hold her,” Jamie said. “They have to bring a whole team in to have you hold her.”
As Joslyn’s lungs grew stronger, she gradually needed less breathing support. Each step brought her parents a little closer to the moment they had been waiting for: seeing their daughter breathe on her own.
“Being on room air, that was a huge milestone in itself,” Jamie said.
Eventually, the focus shifted from breathing to feeding and growing. Joslyn began bottle feeding, and the feeding tube she had relied on could be removed.
At one point, Jamie even learned how to place an NG tube because doctors thought Joslyn might need one when she went home. Jamie practiced placing the tube three times.
In the end, Joslyn didn’t need it.
For Jamie and Josh, every new milestone meant progress. Every tube removed, every change in breathing support and every bottle finished brought their family one step closer to home.
A Home Base During 29 Nights Away
Even before Joslyn was born, the McMillans had heard about Ronald McDonald House Northwest Ohio. When it became clear that their daughter’s hospitalization would be much longer than expected, the House gave their family a place to stay just minutes from her bedside.
For 29 nights in June and July, it became their home base.
Most mornings began with a phone call from Joslyn’s care team with an update. Jamie, Josh and their four-year-old son, Jakob, would get ready at the House, grab something to eat and head to the hospital.
They spent most of the day with Joslyn, sometimes returning to the House for dinner before heading back to the hospital for the evening.
It became their routine during a time when almost nothing else felt normal.
For Jamie, knowing they were so close to Joslyn provided comfort each night they had to leave her.
“Even though it hurt and I cried leaving her there at the hospital, it was really comforting to know we were just right next door,” Jamie said. “If anything were to happen, we could be over there in a moment.”
Without the House, returning home would have meant driving approximately an hour each way between Adrian and Toledo after already spending long, exhausting days in the NICU.
Instead, they could rest nearby and start again the next morning.
Caring for the Whole Family
Joslyn wasn’t the only member of the McMillan family who needed support.
Jamie was recovering from an emergency C-section and a difficult delivery. When she arrived at the House after leaving the hospital, she remembers staff recognizing that she wasn’t doing well.
“They were really nice to check in on me,” Jamie said. “They were constantly checking in, making sure I was okay and offering whatever they could.”
Sometimes that meant offering support. Other times, Jamie said, staff seemed to understand when she simply needed space.
The family’s guest room also gave Jamie an environment where she could continue recovering. The accessible shower provided enough space for Jamie to use a shower chair and for Josh to assist her when needed. The room’s recliner and bed gave her places to rest between long days with Joslyn.
“I thought it was very accessible and easy for recovering,” Jamie said.
For four-year-old Jakob, the House provided something different: opportunities to still be a kid.
Instead of spending his entire summer surrounded only by hospital rooms, he could play in the playroom and on the playground, find a new toy or enjoy one of the baked treats waiting downstairs.
“The baked goods were our favorite, and my son’s favorite,” Jamie said. “He misses those baked goods from the cabinet.”
Jakob enjoyed the House so much that Jamie says he still asks about going back.
Those small moments mattered to his parents.
“I felt horrible for him because, as a four-year-old, it was his summer,” Jamie said. “But he loved it there too.”
Taking Some of the Weight Away
During their 29-night stay, the McMillans also began connecting with other families who understood what it was like to have a child receiving medical care.
Some of those relationships continued after they went home. Jamie remains in contact with families they met at the House, including another family from Adrian.
Meals provided another source of relief.
With Jamie and Josh unable to work as they normally would during Joslyn’s hospitalization, everyday expenses could quickly become another source of stress. Having meals and other essentials available at the House meant there was one less expense and one less decision competing for their attention.
“It just took all the weight of everything else off so we could concentrate on being a family and being there for her and getting through it,” Jamie said.
For the McMillans, that was the difference the House made.
It didn’t change what was happening in the NICU. It gave their family the space and support they needed to face it together.
Finally, Home
After nearly a month, the milestones the McMillans had been celebrating one by one finally led to the one they had been waiting for.
Joslyn was ready to go home.
And once she arrived in Adrian, Jamie noticed a change almost immediately.
“Once we got home, you couldn’t even tell. It was a different baby,” Jamie said.
Feeding, which had been one of Joslyn’s final hurdles in the NICU, quickly improved. Today, Jamie says her daughter is thriving.
The family’s relationship with Ronald McDonald House Northwest Ohio didn’t end when they checked out.
Now that they’re home, Jamie and Josh tell others about the House. They want to return as volunteers. They Round-Up when visiting McDonald’s, and even Jakob has found his own way to help by collecting pop tabs.
“It means everything,” Jamie said. “We’re always constantly telling people about it.”
After experiencing firsthand what it means to need a place like Ronald McDonald House, giving back has taken on a new meaning for their family.
“We’re not going to forget it,” Jamie said. “Hopefully we don’t need it again, but if we ever did, I know it’d be there, and that’s a good thought.”
For 29 nights, Ronald McDonald House Northwest Ohio gave the McMillans a place to rest, recover and stay together while Joslyn took each small but important step toward home.
Today, those 29 nights are behind them. Joslyn is home and thriving, Jakob has his little sister home, and the McMillans are together again.
And the family that once needed the House is already thinking about how they can help make sure it’s there for the next one.