MONROE, La. – St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe is a familiar place for the Trappey Family. Joey and Holly Trappey had all four of their children there, and most recently, they had baby Noah during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
“Going in, I think we were a little nervous because we didn’t know what to expect,” says Holly. “There were a lot of people afraid that he [Joey] wasn’t even gonna be able to come in.”
“Yeah, it would have been tough, and it would have been tough for me too you know, as the father,” says Joey. “It’s something that you know you certainly want to be a part of, and I was just happy that they had found a way to make it work where the father could be there.”
But overall, they say they felt comfortable every step of the way, which is something they want other expecting families to feel too in this uncertain time.
“We definitely understand your nervousness, but there’s such a sense of cleanliness,” says Joey.
“And order. They’ve got structure,” agrees Holly.
“It was somewhat of a different feel on this go around, but again it was a very pleasant experience. It was a very quick experience. It was in and out. That was probably the biggest change,” explains Joey. “I think we had Noah at noon, and by 5 p.m. the next day we were gone.”
A few years ago, their daughter, Ella, was born at St. Francis and needed to spend time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
“We knew beforehand that she was going to have some type of issues with her kidneys and we were hoping, fingers crossed, that when she was born the fluid build-up would kind of resolve itself,” says Holly. “And it didn’t pan out that way. Come to find out she was born with an extra ureter and her heart rate was dropping, so with that being so low they immediately took her in there.”
They say Ella was in the NICU for about a week, and then soon after was back in the hospital fighting an infection. With a Level III NICU in Monroe, they say it made all the difference and allowed them to stay here instead of relocating to another city for care.
“One child is certainly a big deal, and for us, we’ve had four, so there’s a lot of people to thank and a lot of people we appreciate all their time and efforts,” says Joey.
The hospital continues to provide great care with the help of the 2 Cars 2 Winners Raffle. It’s going on right now, and the funds raised benefit the St. Francis Foundation and, subsequently, families like the Trappeys.
Tickets are $50, and you can buy them on the St. Francis Foundation’s website. You’ll be entered for a chance to win a 2020 Nissan Titan Pro 4X and 2020 Toyota 4Runner Limited. From Aug. 3 to Aug. 18, you can buy tickets online and you’ll be entered in a drawing for the chance to win $5,000. On Aug. 19, you can start getting tickets at Creed & Creed Law, Sparks Nissan, Van Trow Toyota, and the drive-thru of all Ouachita Valley Federal Credit Union locations.
Call (833)-884-2277 to buy tickets, or to get more information about the raffle.
