Parents find comforts of home close to their babies
Birthing Services“We feel more than fortunate that a challenging start for our boys has had such happy endings.”
Ewan and August Vogelgesang began their life with a rocky start at just over 26 weeks gestation. Now they are thriving sixth graders and their parents couldn’t feel more blessed.
Wendy Vogelgesang closed her eyes as the medical teams whisked each boy from the operating room. She was just 26 weeks and six days into her pregnancy carrying twins when she had to have an emergency C-section.
“I heard one boy cry. The other didn’t.”
During a regular 26-week checkup, Wendy Vogelgesang found out that she was dilated 2 centimeters and measuring full-term — even though the due date wasn’t until Nov. 1. After being brought to St. Cloud Hospital, Wendy was given medication to keep her pregnant as long as possible.
Life had other plans.
Ewan and August were born Aug. 1, 2006 — five days after Wendy was admitted to the hospital. Ewan was 1 pound 9 ounces and 12.5 inches long; August was 2 pounds 4 ounces and 14 inches long. She first saw them the next day, their little bodies supported by tubes and machines.
Ewan and August were born Aug. 1, 2006. August was 2 pounds 4 ounces and 14 inches long. The boys stayed in the St. Cloud Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for three months until they were strong enough to go home. During this time, Wendy and David were able to stay just footsteps away at the River Oaks Hospitality House.
Ewan was 1 pound 9 ounces and 12.5 inches long. The Gorecki Guest House was built in 2009, replacing the River Oaks home. To celebrate the great care that they received and the gift of being able to stay at the hospitality house, the Vogelgesangs and extended family donated $500 this past Christmas to the Gorecki Guest House to help pay it forward and provide housing for other families in need.
It was when she was just 10 weeks pregnant that Wendy and her husband, David, chose the Celtic name Ewan and the old-fashioned German name August. The doctor, after learning of the names, joked they should have picked the name October so that the babies would have stayed put longer.
he boys stayed in the St. Cloud Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for three months until they were strong enough to go home to Litchfield. During this time, Wendy and David were able to stay just footsteps away at the River Oaks Hospitality House, which provided housing for out-of-town patients and their families from 1996-2008.
“We were so thankful we could be as close to the boys as possible,” Wendy said. “We appreciated that our stay was in a ‘home’ where we could cook meals and come and go as comfortably as we pleased.”
They also were thankful for the affordable rate offered by the Hospitality House. They even had a friend who supported their stay through a donation.
Now the family of four lives in Rochester where the boys are thriving. Both boys were accepted as sixth graders into the highly gifted program at Kellogg Middle School where they get straight As. And, both have been playing the piano for two years. August is now learning to play viola and Ewan is learning to play cello.
“We feel more than fortunate that a challenging start for our boys has had such happy endings.”
To celebrate the great care that they received and the gift of being able to stay at the hospitality house, the Vogelgesangs and extended family donated $500 this past Christmas to the Gorecki Guest House to help pay it forward and provide housing for other families in need.
The Gorecki Guest House was built in 2009, replacing the River Oaks home. It provides guests a comfortable, home-like atmosphere that allows families the opportunity to stay close to their loved one. In June 2019, the Gorecki Guest House celebrates 10 years of welcoming patients and family members who are receiving medical care in the St. Cloud community.