On rare occasions, out of unspeakable sorrow arises optimism, and from unimaginable tragedy is born hope.
Such is the case with Canton resident Ashley Hall. And to hear Ashley’s story is to learn of the cause to which she has devoted her life. You see, at the age of 23, Ashley was expecting her second child. He would be a boy and was named Houston, after his grandfather’s last name.
Twenty-five weeks into the pregnancy, however, a crisis occurred.
“I had a shortage in my umbilical cord,” recalls Ashley. “It meant Houston wasn’t getting the proper nutrients, oxygen, and blood flow that he needed, and it was causing his heart rate to drop.”
At the end of July 2015, Ashley was placed on hospital bedrest where she was scheduled to stay until her delivery date, which was slated for November 22. Ashley’s medical team warned her that she would likely not carry Houston full term.
“They said, ‘You know, you’re not going to make it that far; we’re not sure when, it’s just when [Houston] decides it’s unsafe to be in your stomach anymore.’”
Just two weeks later, Ashley was awakened in the middle of the night, her room bustling with doctors and nurses.
“All I can remember is someone saying, ‘We gotta get him out. We gotta get him out now.’”
Delivered by C-section, Houston entered the world weighing a scant one pound, three ounces.
“They’re not going to tell you at that time, but they didn’t think Houston was going to make it out alive.”
Defying expectations and battling multiple infections, Houston clung to life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) inside Aultman Hospital. However, the consensus was that the NICU at Akron Children’s Hospital possessed more resources and better equipment.
“The day before Thanksgiving, we were transferred to Akron Children’s NICU and luckily at the time, our family was able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House,” says Ashley.
An invaluable resource for families, the Ronald McDonald House provides a welcome respite for families to be near their sick children. Across the street from Akron Children’s, Ashley was just a short walk away from her son. Plus, Ashley’s family was kept intact as she was spared from having to find caregivers for her young daughter, as only parents are allowed to stay overnight at hospitals.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of Akron Children’s medical staff, Houston passed away on January 5. He was four and a half months old.
Children, particularly babies, represent renewal, hope, the future. When a mother bids farewell to a child, the natural order is thrown into disarray and moving on from such a heart-rending incident can be nearly impossible.
But Ashley resolved to inject meaning into an event that defied explanation. Struck by the generosity that previous NICU families and friends demonstrated while Houston was in the hospital, she decided that even more could be done.
“On the anniversary of the day that Houston passed away, which I call his angel-versary, I would donate what the NICU needed, so a lot of times it was baby blankets, booties, hats, things like that. But then I thought about it, and I wanted to focus on the families because that’s where the need is.”
She began providing baskets filled with items such as gift cards for food or gas, baby books, stuffed animals, hygiene items, and catered lunches, “basically anything to let these families know that someone is thinking of them.”
“Also, I wanted to honor Houston because the day he passed away, I told him that his legacy would live on, and that the world would know who he is and his story. And that led to what we are doing now, because of the promise I made to him.”
That promise was the genesis of Houston’s Lift Off. Located within Stark County, Houston’s Lift Off is a non-profit organization partnering with Akron Children’s NICU inside Aultman Hospital and dedicated to helping the three to four hundred NICU families who pass through its doors every year. The charity also works with Elizabeth Fiocca of Culmination Counseling to provide a variety of counseling services to NICU moms.
Ashley now leads a team consisting of seven employees – two of them NICU moms and one a NICU baby – dedicated to aiding Canton-area parents whose babies are in the NICU.
To that end, the charity, a CommunityVotes Canton 2023 Platinum winner among nonprofits, has been in talks with the Ronald McDonald House in the hopes that something can be done to further assist NICU parents in Stark County.
Meanwhile, Ashley constantly engages with the community, partnering with local businesses to raise money to assist NICU families in need and keeping the promise she made to her son in the public eye.
One such event occurs on Wednesday, August 14, the ninth anniversary of Houston’s birth, when Bubba’s 33 will team up with Houston’s Lift Off for a dine to donate event. From 4 to 8 p.m., Bubba’s 33, located at 4721 Dressler Rd. NW, Canton, will donate 10 percent of all proceeds to the charity. The event covers both dine in and carryout orders, so make sure to mention Houston’s Lift Off when ordering. Then you can enjoy some delicious food while simultaneously contributing to a worthy cause.
“Our end goal is to offer some kind of overnight stay, whether it be the Ronald McDonald House or hopefully, one day we will have enough funding for a building,” says Ashley. “Because right
now, we work out of our homes, and we need community rooms for these families. The need is definitely there.”
** Houston’s Lift Off can be reached at 330-280-3881. For more information, visit the organization’s website at www.HoustonsLiftOff.com. **
