Ryan Everett, Mill Hall

When mom Teresa Everett’s water broke unexpectedly in the middle of the night, she and her husband Rob debated whether to go to the hospital or not. They decided to go to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, where the doctors initially told her that while her water did indeed rupture, they still didn’t think labor was imminent.

Baby Ryan had other ideas. He was born just two hours later. Born 14 weeks early, Ryan spent the first four-and-a-half months of his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. Ryan’s parents couldn’t even hold him until seven days after being born, and even then, it had to be just a still hand, no rubbing or patting, which proved to be too much stimulation for him.

Teresa and Rob credit the entire team at Geisinger, including the other parents they befriended during that time at the children’s hospital, for getting them through the most difficult time of their lives. Ryan is a happy and carefree 3-year-old now who loves to snuggle and cuddle with his family — and pretend to be Spiderman too!

Thanks to donations to Children’s Miracle Network at Geisinger, isolettes and other specialized equipment used in the NICU during Ryan’s stay can be funded.