Woman and son deliver NICU care packages for premature babies and their families

If there's one thing that's true about parents of premature babies, it's that they never forget their experience.

"This was the first picture that I ever got of my son," Karen Kroes said, holding up a snapshot. "You really feel helpless.".

Karen is a mom to her 12-year-old son Jay. Although it has been over a decade since she gave birth, it still feels like yesterday.

"I was scared," Karen said. "He was born at 9 pm. I met him at about 6:30 in the morning."
Her holidays were spent in the hospital. Jay was in the neonatal intensive care unit for 72 days. His due date was in February. He was born in November. Now, all these years later, Jay is thriving.

"He's my package sidekick and has been for many years."

Karen works at UW Milwaukee during the day but when she comes home, she makes care packages for parents and families of premature babies. Jay helps her deliver them to hospitals.

The package includes NICU glossaries, preemie clothing, books for the baby's siblings, and milestone markers.

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