AKRON, Ohio — Like many new moms, Kasey Morr is experiencing a lot of firsts.
“Watching her see things for the first time is surreal,” Morr said of her new baby. “I’ve always wanted to be a mom. It’s been a dream of mine.”
At 30-years-old, Morr and her husband, John, received heartbreaking news.
“We were told we would not be able to have a baby on our own, that we would have to do in in-vitro fertilization,” Morr said.
The couple decided that route wasn’t for them and continued to try to conceive naturally.
“So we decided to put our trust in God,” she said.
For seven years, the Morr family experienced disappointment with a series of negative pregnancy tests.
Morr started feeling sick, so her husband encouraged her to take a pregnancy test, even though she was hesitant she took the test.
“I was very, very shocked that it came back positive,” she said. “I definitely hit my knees and thanked God.”
Kasey found out she was pregnant at the end of 2019 and was referred to a specialist at Akron Children’s Hospital because she’s diabetic.
The doctors managed the mother-to-be’s blood sugars and received insulin injections.
But then there was another bump in the road: The pandemic.
“Unfortunately, John was not able to attend my visits with me,” Morr explained. “Being first-time parents, it was really sad and hard.”
While Morr was at an ultrasound, her doctors noticed that the baby was measuring small.
The doctors ran genetic testing to rule out any syndromes the baby might have.
The tests came back normal, so the doctors decided to keep an eye on the baby and perform more frequent ultrasounds.
“One ultrasound, she wasn’t moving very much and they were concerned about that,” she said. “They discussed with me on speakerphone with John that steroids might not be a bad idea to strengthen her lungs in case I had to do an early delivery.”
The bad news didn’t stop there. Morr was then diagnosed with preeclampsia which is a complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system.
Morr was admitted to the hospital during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant only limited visits from her husband and no one else.
“So it was pretty traumatic and very upsetting,” she explained. “I had a hard time because she was due in September and this was the end of May.”
More complications followed, and doctors decided it was time for Morr to become a mom a little early.
“They decided it would be a good time to deliver Ava at 33 weeks and two days, so I had her via c-section,” she said.
Baby Avalyn, or Ava for short, came out screaming and was born at 2.7 pounds.
She needed an IV through her umbilical cord so she had to be sent to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Akron Children’s immediately.
“When I was in recovery, I got maybe 10 minutes with her,” Kasey said. “I got to see her through a little isolette on a stretcher.”
Three days later, Morr was released from the hospital and finally got to visit her newborn baby.
“We went over to Children’s and I got to see her,” the new mom said. “It was the best moment of my life, just to see her laying there, it was surreal.“
Ava was in the NICU for five weeks before her parents could bring her home.
Now, nine and a half months later, her parents said Ava is extremely healthy
“She is just growing. She is perfect — no issues,” Morr said. “We couldn’t be luckier to have such a beautiful little girl.”
The family plans to spend their first Mother’s Day together outdoors.
“I’m really looking forward to just being with her,” she said. “Maybe going on a hike or a walk.”
