A birth care and cancer journey, an hour from home.

Their story, their experience. "We felt heard."
Michael and Maria Gallagher

When we found out we were expecting our fourth baby, we had a decision to make of where we would have our prenatal care. I had heard from several people that they had great care at Orange City Area Health System. After doing some research, we decided this was the place for us to have our fourth child even though it was an hour drive from our home.

We chose to have Dr. Hanson for our care physician. We had our first appointment around 8 weeks and everything looked good. After our first appointment in December, we knew that we had made the right decision. Dr. Hanson listened to our story and took time to answer all of the questions or concerns that we had. We felt HEARD.

When I was nearly 12 weeks along, I lost the baby through miscarriage and ended up having to go to the ER and spent a night there due to heavy blood loss. Our prenatal/OB team cared for us so well, even calling ahead to let the ER know we were coming so we didn’t have to in this time of sorrow and loss. Although not on call for the weekend, Dr. Hanson came to discharge us the next morning. The first thing he said to us was that my shirt was true, it read “Faithful in All Seasons”. Even in this time of loss, God is faithful.

This perspective has been such a change to the care we have received in the past. We felt so supported through this miscarriage. A phone call from a social worker to check in and even our nurse checking in meant so much.

Fast forward a few months and we found out that I was pregnant again. Dr. Hanson took extra precaution with this pregnancy and had us do bloodwork and progesterone shots.

In the first trimester of this pregnancy, we learned that my husband’s cancer had returned which meant more doctor appointments at a different city for him. The staff was so gracious and worked with me whenever there was conflicting appointments to rearrange and make it work out. We felt so cared for through this and that the staff not only cared for me and our baby but our whole family, always asking how they were doing.

As our pregnancy progressed and delivery neared, we were able to talk through our desires for birth and delivery. We felt respected and heard as we asked questions.

During our delivery, the nursing staff was so caring and wanted to know about our family and previous births. Our delivery went smoothly and took place during normal clinic hours. We appreciated that Dr. Hanson never made us feel rushed but was present and patient for our birth. It meant a lot to us when Dr. Hanson prayed over us and our new baby after the delivery.

Our postpartum care was also great! We loved our nurses and the quietness of the rural hospital setting. We always felt genuinely cared for and never like we were just another patient. One thing we enjoyed was the great food we had and the cafeteria!

Because of the great care we have received, we continue to receive our routine care at Orange City Area Health System and appreciate that despite being a rural hospital, they have a pediatrician on staff. Our one hour drive is worth it to receive this exceptional care and service.