The Walk Through — It’s always not this sunny in East Lansing

The Stead Family Hospital features finally punctured me last night.

The feature on FOX and then the one on ESPN this morning, those took me back.

I'm 30 years old. I'm a sports writer at the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque. I received a bit of a promotion to covering the Hawkeyes. This was a big deal for me at the time.

Rewind a little bit. I was 29 when the Packers won the 1997 Super Bowl. The TH sent me to New Orleans to cover it. And hey, the Packers won. It was, you know, fun.

I'm pushing 30, my wife, Becky, was a little younger and also a Packers fan. Hey, let's have a kid!

So, my daughter Devin is a Packers baby.

On the day she started to be born, it was late summer and warm. Becky and I went to the whatever the big mall in the Quad Cities was. We lived in Dubuque and so we went to my parents and had dinner. I sat down in a chair. Becky was in another room talking. He was around 29 weeks pregnant.

I just felt something was wrong, so I went to check on her. She was feeling ill and bad things were happening.

We immediately went to the emergency room at Mercy in Dubuque. We were able to hold off delivery for a while, but my daughter was coming. She was only 29 weeks. We started doing that math. We didn't know what was happening. I remember not being able to swallow.

Becky was able to hold on for ultrasound or whatever and the doctors said she'd be maybe 3.5 pounds.

Devin was born on Sept. 3, 1997 at 9:03 p.m.

She had to stay at Mercy. She needed constant monitoring. We held her as much as we could, but we also thought we shouldn't. She was just so delicate, so new, so fragile.

Things stabilized and I went back to work. I had to. Not because of the work, but because my mind kept clipping and buzzing to the scene where my baby had a giant needled in her head. Babies born that small, nurses have to go anywhere they can for the IV. I think I asked if that was OK 1,000 times. Every time, I got a gentle reassurance. I'm not sure I could hear.

I think it was Sept. 17. The Hawkeyes played host to Tulsa. Tavian Banks set the single-game rushing record.

This was pre-cell phone, at least for me it was. So, I got a phone call in the Kinnick press box. I knew it couldn't have been good. On the other end was my friend Jim Leitner, who was running the desk that day. He talked to my wife or mom or dad and said things had gotten bad for Devin and that she was on her way to the UIHC in an ambulance.

My wife couldn't get a hold of me. My sweet, little daughter was baptized in the back of that ambulance.

I cut the coverage short and was lucky enough to be able to spend time at my friend John Shipley's apartment in Iowa City. My mind kept turning over.

I think it was four weeks in the neonatal unit at the UIHC. Becky lived in the Ronald McDonald's House. You guys, this stuff really happens to people and they need the Ron McDonald House. Please donate what you can.

The neonatal staff was so kind and gentle. Things stabilized. After four weeks, Devin was well enough to return to Mercy. After another two weeks, we were able to take our daughter home. We were scared to death.

I haven't walked in the shoes of the folks who are now in the Stead Family Children's Hospital (I'm just running through this and apologize if I goof up official names). I can just say that when you have a sick child, you frantically pull at the words from doctors and sift for hope. There's no peace. Your mind can become a tortured mess. You dwell on the worst outcomes to maybe understand what's going on or because you're stressed past the point of reason.

You can see that the Hawkeyes and view into Kinnick Stadium help the families forget their storms even just for an hour or three or whatever.

That is a mercy and it's immeasurable.

Part of the reason I'm writing this today is my Devin is a happy, healthy 20-year-old. She goes to Kirkwood and is studying nursing. She and her boyfriend Ethan (it feels like this one is sticking around, and, you know what, I'm totally good with that) did that Kinnick 5 K thingie today.

I'm here in East Lansing. I do have a cellphone this time!!!! She sent me a pic of her and Ethan with their medals on the Kinnick field.

The Dubuque Mercy and UIHC neonatal units left indelible marks on our lives. I'm so happy to be a member of this community.

I never wanted to point the camera my way on this. But that text this morning with that picture, I'm a proud dad. (The pic is above. I didn't lead with it, because Devin doesn't know I'm writing this she might get mad at old dad.)

Thank you for taking a second. No, you're crying.

__________

Iowa safety Brandon Snyder will be in uniform today. He suffered a torn ACL this spring and it was mostly expected that he would miss the season. I talked with him on media day. He seemed not resigned to missing the year, but maybe at peace.

He did say he'd keep working for a return.

And here he is.

1) We don't know how much he'll play if he plays at all.

2) I don't know if he'd replace Miles Taylor or Amani Hooker. Iowa's safety play could used a charge. If Snyder is healthy, I think Iowa's run defense is better. Snyder has a knockout punch.

- Miguel Recinos just drilled a 46-yarder in warmups. It's a perfect day here. Zero wind and lots of sun.

- Rest in Peace, Purdue coach Joe Tiller. I like him. Talked with him many times at Big Ten media days. Loved that the man never coached a blueblood team and yet is a coaching legend. Peace and prayers to his family.

- Michigan State is in white pants and helmets. The Hawkeyes will be on the sideline at the top of your TV.

OK, I had a brat and missed the other stuff, so kickoff upcoming.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com