Early Childhood

Every baby name has a story behind it, sometimes a family namesake or the result of months of debate between mom and dad.

For Anna Elfgen and Josh Boresi, their daughter's name came through a revelation.

"One night in the middle of the night, I just sat up and thought, "Angel, she's our little angel," said Anna.

Angel indeed. The four-month-old baby girl was a true tiny winter miracle for this Boone family.

Anna, already a mother to four children, wasn't supposed to have more children. She had been in remission from cancer since February of last year. When she started feeling sick again, she feared the cancer was back. Every test doctors ran came back negative. Except for one – a pregnancy test suggested by a nurse.

"It turned out positive, and all the doctors freaked out," Anna said. "We called Cedar Rapids and Iowa City and no one would take me, and then Des Moines did. They didn't think I would make it past 12 weeks."

She admits she was terrified. Cancer had scarred her uterus and cervix, making pregnancy risky. She and her family began making trips to Des Moines twice each week to see specialists.

Seven months pregnant, Anna went to see the family doctor for a skin problem. But as she sat in the waiting room, a more serious problem developed – contractions.

"I was used to having contractions, but these were more serious than I was realizing," she said. "Everyone was pointing at me and talking, and I'm thinking ‘Is it really hot in here?"

When Anna arrived at the hospital, her contractions were one minute apart. Too unstable to be transported to Des Moines, Anna had Angel by emergency C-section at the Boone County Hospital. She held up her hands to show the size of Angel's head at birth, almost as small as an apple.

At just 4 lbs and 5 oz., Angel's parents only got to give her kisses before complications made it necessary to rush her to Des Moines. She stayed in intensive care for two weeks, followed by a short time at home, and back to Des Moines again after more complications.

"She looked like a lifeless little body in the hospital," said Anna. "It was so hard, there was no life to her."

After two weeks, Angel finally came home for good. Anna and Josh kept it a surprise from her siblings, who met her with smiles and laughter and tears.

One week later Anna was at the local WIC (Women, Infant and Children) office when she met RaeAnn Clark, a family support worker in LSI's HOPES early childhood program. HOPES, which arrived in Boone County last fall, provides in-home visits and education on parenting and child development to families with children prenatal to age three.

"She told me who she was and what she did," Anna said. "I started thinking, ‘I haven't done this in a long time, so I could probably use some help."

RaeAnn and Anna worked on child development and parenting skills during weekly visits. They tested Angel's hearing, jingling a set of keys or a rattle by her ear. Josh learned how to do baby massages, and they discussed Angel's eating habits and basic care.

But it was one HOPES visit in particular that truly put Angel on a positive path. RaeAnn taught Anna about infant tummy time and the importance of exercises to strengthen Angel's legs, neck muscles and back. The family put them into practice, and it paid off.

"This has been a wonderful experience, to watch Angel do all these things that RaeAnn's been teaching us about," said Anna. "If she hadn't taught me the baby exercise and different things to do, she wouldn't be as advanced. Nowhere near it."

Angel's physician echoed that statement.

"The doctor was incredibly impressed from her last check-up to this check-up," Anna said. "He said it was huge development and she was much more advanced than she should be for babies born that early."

"I told him about RaeAnn and the baby exercises, and he thought it was wonderful. He said ‘Whatever it is they're doing, keep doing it because it's doing Angel wonders."

HOPES may be doing Angel wonders, but the real wonder is in seeing a true miracle – Angel.