inspired by a miracle
The lone survivor among
premature triplets, Corey Epton
defied the odds and thrived
after five months in neonatal
intensive care—inspiring her
grateful family to give back.
10 – healing gifts – Fall 2014
W
hen Betsy Epton was first pregnant in 1989,
she and her husband were given a tour of
the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital as part of
their childbirth preparation classes. “Scott and I kept
hearing all this weird beeping, and we thought, ‘We’re
never going to be in here,’” says Betsy, even though
she was expecting triplets at the time. “It
was all so foreign.”
Nurse Diane
Patzer (right) shares photos
she took of Corey
as a newborn.
But after Betsy went into labor at just 25 weeks’
gestation, the NICU became the couple’s home away
from home, and its staff became their extended family.
Doctors and nurses joined with Betsy and Scott’s parents
and siblings to shepherd the couple on a journey that took
them from excited anticipation to unspeakable grief, from
renewed hope to a lifelong commitment to giving back to
the hospital that saw them through the most sorrowful but
ultimately joyful time of their lives.
Tiny Alex Epton died when he was 14 hours old.
Brother Brian followed him an hour later. But against all
odds and weighing just 1 pound 7 ounces—about the size
of a soda can—sister Corey managed to hang on.
“Our lifeline and our saviors”
The weeks and months following the babies’ births
were physically and emotionally exhausting for Betsy
and Scott, but they never felt alone. “I was still in the
delivery room when [neonatologist] Dr. Mangurten
introduced himself and told me, ‘I’m going to take care
of you,’” Betsy says. “If there is a God on earth, it
is Henry Mangurten. Dr. Sheftel, Dr. Benawra, Dr.
Puppala—all of them were just wonderful, too.”
Because Corey’s lungs were too undeveloped for her
to breathe on her own, the newborn was hooked up to a
ventilator for three and a half months. Betsy
and Scott spent so much
time at the hospital that,
one Saturday night, several
off-duty nurses and their
husbands came looking for
the couple and insisted they
go out bowling with them. “The
nurses were truly our lifeline
and our saviors,” Betsy says. “I
asked them, ‘Why do you want
to spend time with me? I have two
babies who died, and another who
will probably die.’ And they said,
‘The day we stop caring is the day
we should no longer be here.’”
Besides parents, only grandparents
are allowed to visit patients in the
NICU, and “the hospital could not
have been better in terms of their
support,” remembers Betsy’s father,
Harold Solochek, who with his late wife,
Marsha, moved into an apartment several
blocks from the hospital so they could be
near their daughter and granddaughter.
“Day and night, there wasn’t a nurse who didn’t offer
encouragement, and Dr. Mangurten took on Corey almost
like she was his own child.”
As did the NICU nurses. When it was finally time for
Corey to leave the hospital after five months, Susan
Okuno-Jones spent the first night with the Epton family
in their house in Northbrook, even though she had a
baby of her own at home. Several other nurses, including
Diane Patzer and Maggie Thomas, rearranged their work
schedules so they could support Betsy at home, as well.
“We call them A
̒ untie,” Betsy says.
Fall 2014 – healing gifts – 11
Healing our littlest patients
From left: Scott Epton, Susan Okuno-Jones, Corey Epton,
Dr. Henry Mangurten, Betsy Epton
The family gives back
Now a young adult, Corey is the older sister of Casey
and a special-services teacher to seven students at Anne
Fox Elementary School in Hanover Park. Grateful for their
beautiful, healthy girl—and the woman she’s become—
the family has given back to Advocate Lutheran General
Hospital and Advocate Children’s Hospital - Park
Ridge in many ways over the years. Knowing firsthand
the travails of having a baby in the NICU, Betsy has
volunteered in the unit, cuddling fragile newborns and
supporting their overwhelmed parents—and she now
serves on the hospital’s Pediatric Council of Advisors.
She and a friend also started PALS, a group to provide
“fun stuff” for hospitalized children.
When Corey was 7, her maternal grandparents made a
generous gift to the hospital—recognized by naming the
“Scott, Betsy, Corey and Casey Epton Neonatal Intensive
Care Nurseries”—in the form of a charitable remainder
annuity trust. This kind of philanthropic donation provides
an annual income stream for the donors or others they
designate during their lifetime. “Making that gift made
Marsha and me feel very good,” Harold Solochek says.
“It was a win-win for everyone.”
Every year since Corey Epton was little, she and her
family have celebrated her birthday by bringing cake for
the patients in Advocate Children’s Hospital. This year
marks a major milestone: Corey turns 25 years old on
December 26.
“When Corey was a newborn, we were told she might
be blind and she might have cerebral palsy, but she has
had absolutely no residual effects,” Betsy says. “There are
no words for how our family feels about the NICU. What
they did for Corey was a miracle.” ■
12 – healing gifts – Fall 2014
When human life is at its most fragile state,
Advocate's neonatal intensive care units are at
their best, calling upon the advanced skills of our
doctors and nurses, as well as state-of-the-art
technology. Advocate provides exceptional care
for high-risk neonates at four Level III nurseries—
Advocate Christ Medical Center/Advocate
Children’s Hospital - Oak Lawn, Advocate Good
Samaritan Hospital, Advocate Illinois Masonic
Medical Center and Advocate Lutheran General
Hospital/Advocate Children’s Hospital - Park
Ridge—all capable of caring for the smallest and
sickest of newborn babies.
Donors play a vital role in helping to improve our
already-advanced neonatal care—for both patients
and their families. Charitable gifts help afford
essential resources needed for our NICUs to:
• Purchase specialized equipment. Examples
include Giraffe Omnibeds—versatile incubators
that function as radiant warmers and monitor
pulse, oxygen and weight. Funds were also used
recently to buy an incubator for transporting
babies from alternate sites to an Advocate NICU.
• Offer comprehensive comfort and guidance
for families. Because caring for a preemie or
critically ill infant can be difficult and stressful,
our NICUs provide parents with the support
and education they need to feel prepared and
confident. And for families who suffer the loss
of a baby, bereavement services—ranging from
keepsake items and cards to photography and
memorials—are available.
• Provide continuing education opportunities.
Philanthropy allows doctors, nurses and
caregivers to attend trainings and professional
development conferences—where they learn
about emerging research, review clinical and
quality improvement topics, and share best
practices in neonatal care.
If you are interested in making a gift
to support our neonatal intensive care
units, please call 630.929.6900 or visit
advocategiving.org.