08/20/2025
Thank you Kelsey & Jeremy Sundgren for trusting us with your most precious bundle! 💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💙
I have been blessed to have four healthy babies at SBA. Each experience was so special and wonderful, but the most recent time was more complex. My newest baby’s story, oddly enough, begins several years prior. In July 2022 I was pregnant with my fourth child. Sadly I unexpectedly and traumatically lost our little one, Malone, at almost 13 weeks. I was devastated, but I had many friends who had experienced miscarriage, and I knew it was not uncommon. I felt reassured we would be able to experience another healthy pregnancy.
Fast forward to January of 2023. I was excited and a little nervous to find out I was pregnant again. Dr. McKesey watched me closely through this first trimester, and everything looked normal and healthy…until it didn’t. Just shy of 13 weeks again, we lost our little girl, Faye Catherine. This time the hurt was different. Not only was I mourning my baby, but I doubted I would go through this pregnancy journey again. I was likely done creating a family and not on my own terms. Faye’s genetic results came back normal, which left me with more questions about why I was experiencing recurrent loss. Especially after successful live births without any difficulty, this seemed unusual. I felt very lost and alone. I took some time to consider what I wanted for my family’s future, and in 2024, I decided to see a recurrent loss specialist long distance. The idea of a fourth child had been planted in my heart, and I couldn’t let it go quite yet. But this would be my last try, so I wanted to give it everything. Just a side note here to say my husband Jeremy was so supportive of every decision I made through these years of loss, and I appreciate him traveling this hard road beside me so much.
My specialist was amazing. He identified some blood clotting factors, immune factors, and a few lesser things like vitamin levels that he felt could be contributing jointly to my losses. We made adjustments with supplements, lifestyle changes, and medications, and in August 2024 I conceived again. This is where SBA enters as an important part of my story. My specialist required weekly scans and blood work for much of my pregnancy and a lot of testing pre-pregnancy, too. He monitored my special protocol from afar while Dr. McKesey and her team kept a close eye on me locally. I was often at the hospital 2 or 3 times a week for lab work, sonograms, or OB appointments. I spent extensive time there. The girls at check in knew my name and birth date by heart, and the ladies in the lab became my friends! I miss them! Nina in radiology was with me through both of my losses and she gave me almost all of my early scans, when I was particularly nervous. I have never been so afraid as I was to enter radiology during the early weeks of my pregnancy when it was too soon for the baby’s movements to comfort me. Nina, and all of our amazing ultrasound techs, were such a support to me. The administrative staff was beyond accommodating helping me get lab work and scan results to my long distance doctor. Our outstanding CEO Melissa even worked with me after hours to get images to my doctor when I felt it was urgent because of possible complications. The small town feel and service of our hospital really came through for me in a way I will never forget.
On 4/14/25, I gave birth to my precious boy Callaway “Cal” Malone Sundgren. My birth experience on the OB floor was as flawless as all the times before with an attentive nurse (Thank you, Dawn!) who took care of me in my most vulnerable moments, and my amazing doctor and the rest of her care team who brought my baby safely into the world. Some of the girls from the lab even came up to meet him and see if I’d had a boy or girl. The 39+ weeks of this pregnancy were some of the most fear ridden, uncertain times I have experienced. It’s also hands down the most time I’ve spent in a medical facility in my entire life, and I was SO grateful for our local hospital. Honestly the time commitment was so great that if I’d had to travel to Wichita for this care, I’m not sure I could have done it with my other children and obligations. So in a way, I thank SBA for the gift of my son. And for allowing me to end my years of having babies on such a happy note, instead of what could have been quite a sad one. A special thanks to the admissions department, all the girls in the lab, Nina and all of radiology, and of course Dr McKesey, Peggy and the whole OB office, as well as all of the nurses who cared for me in L&D! Cal wouldn’t be here without you.
