As teachers, Lindsay and Tyler Staup understand the importance of celebrating milestones.
Each year, they throw a 100-day party in both of their classrooms. When they realized their infant daughter was coming up on 100 days in the NICU at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health in Indianapolis, Indiana, they knew they had to celebrate.
Everly Staub was born at 28 weeks gestation, and she’s had several medical setbacks related to her premature birth. At just three and a half months old, the little fighter has already had six surgeries and is due to have one more to treat her duodenal atresia and other complications.
“Everly is very feisty and she’s a strong little girl,” said Tyler. “She’s been through six surgeries already in just over 100 days and she’s made it through all of them. And we’ll say that, you know, I don’t know if us personally could have made it through. And she’s shown her strength in so many big ways and we’re just proud to be her parents because of all she’s accomplished.”
After all she’s been through, Tyler and Lindsay wanted to celebrate how far she’s come by throwing a 100-day party in her hospital room.
“We thought we could tie in the tradition inside the NICU just to make it fun and joyful,” Lindsay said. “We were like, we had to do something fun, to just bring joy and create memories with her.”
On June 29th, the new parents showed up in matching “Hip Hip Horray. It’s the 100th Day” tee shirts. They also had a special outfit for Everly: A big gold grown that said “100,” and an adorable yellow tutu. Lindsay’s mother made the tees and Everly’s custom onesie.
Many of the members of Everly’s care team stopped by to celebrate her special milestone with her.
“At Riley, we have the best nurses and doctors here,” Tyler said. “We’ve loved all of them that we’ve had, and I’d say that they make us feel so welcome and they care for us and they care for our daughter, and it’s just great to know, even when we’re not here, that she’s in wonderful hands because of the work that they do here.”
Lindsay says she couldn’t be prouder of her little girl, and someday she’ll show her these 100-day pictures so she can see how hard she fought when she was just a little baby.
“I’m so proud of her,” said Lindsay. “She is just literally a light to the world. She’s a huge miracle and she has faced so many obstacles and she always comes out better in the end. We’re just so proud of her and she’s helped us become better people. And I don’t know, we’ve just grown so much in this experience and she has just shown us that good things can come out of bad situations. … I just love her so much.”
Lindsay and Tyler hope their 100-day party gives other families who are going through medical issues with their infants hope! We hope this family gives us an update when Everly finally gets to go home and start her life with her loving family!
Share this story to wish Everly a full recovery!
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