Tumut couple Jorja and Lewis with their son Mason, who was born at just 28 weeks … Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Canberra became the lifeline the couple never knew they would need. Photo: RMHC.
Jorja didn’t get to be “that big, fat, happy pregnant person”.
Her water broke at 25 weeks, and what followed was a roller-coaster ride to first-time parenthood for the 33-year-old Tumut resident and her partner, Lewis, 36.
It was 5 March 2025, and the couple was getting ready for work. “I said to Lewis, ‘I think I’ve just peed myself’,” Jorja says.
“We called the midwife, who said you can’t put a price on reassurance, and so we went to the local hospital and were seen straight away.”
Testing revealed amniotic fluid, and the next thing Jorja was in an ambulance on the road to Canberra with a midwife by her side, while Lewis raced home and hastily prepared a bag for the hospital and dropped the dog off at a friend’s place.
“Lewis was half an hour behind me,” Jorja recalls.
“It’s funny the things you remember. I’d put a load of washing on before we went into the hospital and, bless him, he hung it out!”
Jorja was put on a ward in the Maternity Assessment Unit (MAU) of Canberra’s Women and Children’s Hospital and loaded up with steroids and antibiotics to protect the brain and lungs of their unborn baby boy.
It was a particularly stressful drive for Lewis, who arrived with the bag, saw Jorja and said, “Thank God, there’s only one of you still”.
Miraculously, Jorja was able to remain pregnant for another two and a half weeks. At this early stage, every single hour is critical.
“Hearing his heartbeat on the Doppler brought us so much comfort,” Jorja says.
After a week on the ward, the couple was told they could leave the hospital, but it was too risky to return to Tumut as Jorja needed close monitoring.
That’s when Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Canberra became the lifeline the couple never knew they would need.
“I don’t know what we would have done, and we will be forever grateful … just to not even have to think about where we would go or the financial stress of finding a place to stay,” Jorja says.
“I almost can’t put it into words …”
Jorja would ultimately stay 89 nights at RMHC Canberra.
When she went into labour at just 28 weeks, Mason was delivered by emergency caesarean on 30 March.
The tiny boy would spend two months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and his parents were able to stay close by his side.
Jorja says the beauty of the house is its location in the hospital – they were only one level away from their newborn son.
Within its modern, home-away-from-home facilities, the couple settled into a new sort of normal where Lewis could work remotely (volunteers even found a desk for him), access the well-equipped communal kitchen and living facilities or retreat to the comfort of their room, which came with an ensuite – and all-important breast pump.
There was food, comfort and as much support on hand from the amazing volunteers as was needed – or wanted, according to Jorja.
“There was always food in the fridge, every Friday we had groups that came in to cook for us, and on Tuesdays there was a pizza night,” she says.
“And, my gosh, the baked goods! There was always someone baking … muffins, slices, and the lactation cookies went like hotcakes!
“Never for a moment did we have to worry about what we were going to eat, and that was such a weight off our shoulders between all the chaos.”
“Even as we were leaving, they kept giving and helping us,” says Jorja of the Tumut family’s experience at RMHC Canberra. Photo: RMHC.
But beyond the nourishment for their bodies was the care shown by the volunteers – truly the heart and soul of the house, according to Jorja.
“Having those familiar faces was really comforting. If we wanted to chat, they were there, or if we just wanted to grab a cup of tea and process things quietly, they were incredibly respectful of our privacy.”
The thoughtful additions in the house and small acts of kindness made a huge difference to the emotions and stress of coping with a premature baby and post-caesarean recovery, according to Jorja.
She says the supportive arms of RMHC Canberra also helped alleviate the disappointment she felt about missing so much of her pregnancy experience.
But even as this new family of three was finally given the all-clear to leave the hospital on 31 May, the care didn’t stop there.
“The volunteers gave us a basket of goodies and a beautiful blanket – it was almost like a graduation present,” Jorja says. “Even as we were leaving, they kept giving and helping us.”
It’s one of the many reasons Jorja has been so willing to share her story to support RMHC ahead of its largest fundraiser for the year, McHappy Day, on Saturday, 15 November.
In Canberra this year, a 24-hour tennis challenge will see participants rally through the night to raise funds for RMHC ACT and South East NSW, which supports many families with ill and injured children.
The event starts at 4 pm on Friday, 14 November, at Weston Creek Tennis Club, and will wrap up with a community tennis carnival on Saturday, 15 November, from 1 pm to 4 pm. You don’t have to be part of the tennis challenge to enjoy a ‘McHappy’ time with free adult and junior clinics, face-painting and jumping castle for the kids, DJ, BBQ, prizes and giveaways.
For Jorja, Lewis and Mason, life back at home in Tumut has settled into a rhythm. Mason is now seven months old (or 4 months, 3 weeks corrected age) and doing well.
“He’s smiling and giggling now … and getting teeth, which is fun for everybody,” Jorja laughs.
“People say to me, ‘Oh he’s so small’, but to me now he’s huge!”
There are still regular check-ups with their paediatrician, and a highlight has been taking Mason in to meet everyone at Ronald McDonald House Canberra.
“They were so excited to see him,” Jorja says.
“Being on a NICU ward can be a really scary place, and it wasn’t how we envisaged our lives would be.
“But having that safe space of the house provided real comfort at a time when our world had turned upside down.”
To sign up for the 24-hour tennis challenge or for details of the community tennis carnival, visit the website. To support the work of Ronald McDonald House Charities ACT & SE NSW, donate here.
