The Mijangos Family

Spending quality time and bonding with your newborn is essential to every new parent/child relationship. Jackie and Pedro Mijangos would soon realize this for themselves after their son, Elias, was born.

On May 28, Jackie went for a routine doctor’s visit and was told she had early signs of preeclampsia. Her doctor wanted to monitor her, so she was admitted to the hospital. Elias Emmanuel Mijangos was born on June 2 at 32 weeks weighing only 3 pounds and 13 ounces. He was admitted to the NICU to give him time to grow, gain weight and to be sure he was maintaining a steady heartbeat and body temperature.

Mijangos collage

The Mijangos Family is from Whitfield County, GA

“Before I knew we were going to stay [at RMHC], I didn’t know how I was going to see him every day,” shared Jackie, mom. “Once they told me we could stay, it was such a relief. As a mom, I wanted to be there to know what was going on, what were they doing or what his condition was. And it only takes me ten minutes to walk over there.”

Jackie was able to get up each morning and walk across the street to spend time and bond with Elias or as she stated, have the “mom connection.” Without the opportunity to stay at the house, Jackie would not have been able to see Elias every day. After having a C-section, her doctor explained that she would not be able to drive for 4-6 weeks because of recovery and the blood pressure medication she was on. Being walking distance from her baby meant the world.

For Pedro, not worrying about a hotel fee brought so much peace. While Jackie was pregnant, she was unable to work and Pedro had to take a few weeks off when she was in the hospital, so being able to stay at RMHC for free was a relief during tight financial times. The relief of staying at the House helped them to be able to just focus on Baby Elias.

Being able to stay close made all the difference for the Mijangos family.