Margot Ann Witous

Our Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is an integral part of providing care to all our patients. Because of donations to the Foundation, we are able to directly support families who have children under care in the NICU. The Witous family experienced the compassionate care of our NICU staff firsthand with the birth of their daughter, Margot Ann Witous. Margot’s parents, Jessica and Mikey Witous, shared their story and show the ways in which your donations to our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit help those who need it.

Our daughter, Margot Ann Witous, was born Nov. 12, 2020, but her story started in July when we learned about her condition. My husband and I are both little people (dwarfs), and with every pregnancy, there is a 25 percent chance that we both pass on the dominant gene (specific to our dwarfism), resulting in a condition where the baby cannot survive long after birth, typically a few hours to a few days. Our first child received one gene, resulting in a healthy, dwarf child. We learned in July that this baby most likely inherited both genes.

From the beginning of my pregnancy, my doctor at Saint Joseph Health System and his staff were aware of the chances and knew exactly what to watch for. We didn't do any genetic testing because it wasn't going to change our plan, and the office respected that. Once we learned of the possibility, the team continued to guide us through the next four months as we prepared for the worst. They listened to us, answered our questions and calmed our fears. We were connected with other staff members of the hospital to create a birth plan that would take place on Nov. 12. COVID-19 created some obstacles, but we were still able to have some immediate family with us to meet our new baby.

When Margot was born, she immediately showed signs that maybe her diagnosis wasn't what we thought. The NICU team saw those signs and cared for her, not the diagnosis that we were planning for. Over the next three weeks, the NICU not only cared for her, but also our whole family, to the highest degree. After those three weeks, we received the genetic results back that showed that Margot did in fact carry both genes. Her still being with us three weeks later was a miracle. For a total of seven weeks, Margot was in the NICU and her care never wavered. Now the goal was to get her home. She safely made it down to Indy for a G-tube placement, and then was home after eight weeks total.

At one point during her stay at the NICU, we were called in during the middle of the night when she took a turn for the worse. When my husband and I went to breakfast after the dreadful night, a meal we weren't usually there for, a staff member in the cafeteria took notice, and took care of our meal. She knew we were there early for a reason, and it wasn't a good one. Her small gesture made us feel like family, that SJHS was there for us, through the good and bad.

After three weeks, our Margot lost her battle and passed away peacefully in the comfort of her home surrounded by mom and dad. Our family is forever indebted to the staff of my doctor's office, the NICU team and all those who have a role, no matter the size, in the care we received. When we were writing her obituary, we knew immediately that we wanted to give back to the NICU because they provided us so many memories that we thought we wouldn't get the chance to have.

If you would like to make a contribution in Margot’s name, the family asks you to please give to the SJHS NICU. 

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