On November 20, 2012, Romy Mehlman was in a meeting at Disney Studios, directly across the street from Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center. All of a sudden, her face dropped. The gentleman next to her (who happened to serve on the Providence Saint Joseph Foundation board) told her to immediately go to the ER. Romy couldn’t see her own face, so she had no idea what was wrong and why everyone was so concerned.

At Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Romy was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy and preeclampsia. She was 35 weeks pregnant with twins at the time and was immediately scheduled for an emergency C-section.

Thankfully, her twin boys, Asher and Levi, were delivered safely. Although her newborns were healthy, Romy remained in trouble. She stayed at the hospital five days, while the Labor and Delivery nurses assisted her with breastfeeding  and cared for her sons — all while making sure she continued to receive necessary care and rest.

“There is nowhere else in the world I would rather be treated than Providence,” said Romy. “Everyone is treated with love and warmth.”

Today, Romy still has symptoms of Bell’s palsy, but she believes her outcome could have been much worse had she not been so close to Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center to receive immediate, quality care.

Her experience inspired her to give back to the hospital that played such a crucial role in the health of her family. As co-chair of the Mother/Baby Campaign Committee, she has helped raise $2 million for new equipment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), including new Giraffe OmniBed infant incubators.

When Romy’s wife, Ashley, became pregnant with the couple’s third son, they knew they wanted to have their baby at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center. Very early in her pregnancy, Ashley began having contractions and was immediately admitted into Labor and Delivery. Because she was only in the 27th week of her pregnancy, Ashley’s medical team wanted to delay the delivery as long as possible — each additional day can make a lifesaving difference.

However, Paxton was born several days later, extremely premature and very tiny. Ashley was only able to hold her baby for a moment before he was taken to the NICU. Romy had no idea that their son would end up needing one of the Giraffe OmniBeds made possible by her fundraising efforts.

Every day, Ashley and Romy took turns to be as close as possible to Paxton. 

He was too fragile for his older brothers to see him for the first 72 days of his life. It was an incredibly difficult time for the family, and the hospital staff did everything they could to help.

“The nurses who work in the NICU are just unbelievable. They were compassionate and supportive through our whole ordeal,” says Ashley.