Love Where You Live
  • Home
  • Life & Style
    • Features
    • People & Events
    • Advice for Pet Lovers
    • Home & Style blog
    • Real Estate >
      • Real Estate St. Johns BLOG
      • Featured Communities >
        • Focus on Trailmark
        • Focus on Shearwater
        • Focus on Nocatee
        • Age Restricted Communities
    • Travel
  • Dining
    • Local Restaurant Reviews
    • Local Chefs Series
    • Coastal Home Group's Favorite's
    • Restaurant Guide
  • Current Issue
  • Best of St. Johns
    • Best of Food & Wine 2024
    • Best of St. Johns 2025
  • Local Stuff
    • Calendar
    • Guide to Health & Wellness >
      • BLOG Health & Wellness Providers BLOG
    • Special Needs & Autism Resources >
      • SJM Autism Blog
    • Guide to Non-profits
    • Guide to Established Neighborhoods
    • Guide to New Neighborhoods
    • Summer Camp
    • After School
    • Trivia Nights
    • Parks in St. Johns
    • Beaches
    • Farmer's Markets
    • Golf Courses
  • Advertise
    • Partner with Us
    • About Us
    • Past Issues
    • Contributors

There's a New Charity in Town

1/31/2023

0 Comments

 

I See You NICU

by Jennifer Sesniak,
Founder & President, I See You NICU
Picture


I See You NICU is an organization started by NICU mom, Jennifer Sesniak, who saw the lack of available support in the experience of parents with preemies who stay in the NICU and wanted to do something to fill the need. 

The statistics are alarming and going in the wrong direction.
  • 1 in 10 U.S. babies are born preterm -- a statistic increasing yearly and is one of the worst among high-resource nations. 
  • As many as 60% of NICU parents experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 
  • On a positive note, 98% of babies survive the NICU due to the latest care and technical developments.

Jennifer's Story

Picture
After what seemed like a picture-perfect pregnancy, I went into premature labor at 28 weeks. Logan arrived fast and furious in an operating room filled with doctors and nurses at 2 lbs, 8 oz, and 14 inches. He breathed on his own, a blessing given the laundry list of potential possibilities. Whisked away to the Wolfson Children's NICU for an 81-day stay.

"The experience of seeing my tiny, fragile baby in a plastic box with wires connected everywhere, depleted all my strength. I thought, is this my fault, did I eat healthy enough, and why did my body fail me? "

This inner dialog sent me into the darkness of postpartum depression and anxiety with PTSD symptoms. I lost what being a first-time mom should look like and found there was no help on how to navigate my mental health, work life, insurance questions, or any sense of normalcy.

NICU professionals provided extraordinary care and were patient but our new normal meant permission had to be granted even to hold Logan. Depending upon his condition, some days we couldn't. I’ll never forget the alarms and late-night phone calls we hoped would never come, but day by day, Logan grew stronger, achieving milestones that seemed like mountains!

Today Logan is a strong-willed, happy four-year-old. We still reflect upon our journey as if no time elapsed. "We appreciate how lucky we are -- we could have used more support beyond one lone Facebook group. We didn’t know who to turn to for help during this time. I now know none of this was my fault, but we want to make sure others benefit from networking with those who share their experiences."

Unfortunately, the road of being a NICU parent doesn’t end at discharge. Our experience became the inspiration for I See You NICU, whose mission is to develop a network of past, present, and future NICU families. Also providing support, awareness, and education to our community. The goal this year is to grow our support network and build relationships with hospital NICUs to improve the process and patient outcomes.

Interested in getting involved or supporting the cause? You can share, like, volunteer or donate. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram. Let's all support the NICU community better. Remember, I See You NICU really does see NICU families.

Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    St. Johns Magazine
    Debbie Gaylord

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    May 2024
    February 2024
    November 2023
    August 2023
    May 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    June 2022
    December 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All
    100 Years: One Day At A Time
    Artist
    Bartram Trail High School
    Beluthahatchee
    Best Buddies St. Johns
    Blue Sky Dental Group 2019
    Chris Phelps
    Closet Factory Spring Cleaning With Peace & Purpose
    Coastal Casual
    Cole Slate
    Dr. Christopher Henry Of Henry Advanced Orthodontics
    Dr. Henry
    Dr. Kathleen Deckard
    Fully Promoted
    Furniture & Fine Art
    Henry Advanced Orthodontics
    Jet & Ivy
    Jim Kane: Artist
    Life On The River Is Good
    Linda Schrenk Body Artist
    Local Businesses St. Johns
    Michael Cervone: Artist
    Mindy Kerr
    Mindy Kerr Of Nature's Child Photography 2018
    Motherhood: A Balancing Act
    Nease Animal Hospital
    Networking St. Johns
    Pets R Family June 2022
    Pet's R Family - Pets Really Are Part Of The Family!
    Pets R Family: The Value Of Mentorship
    Rivertown Fine Wine & Spirits Visits Washington DC
    Rivertown January 2021
    Robert Stebleton
    Shearwater 2020
    Sisterhood
    Smiles By Glenos
    Sofia's Journey: A Young Dancer's Rise To Success
    Special Needs St. Johns
    Starlight Gymnastics Helps Build A Star Gymnast!
    St. Augustine Art
    St. Johns Education
    St. Johns Real Estate Team Menton & Ballou
    The Cookie Swap
    The Secret Avocado Toast Society
    Thumbs Up For Chris
    Veterinarian
    Vicky Oakes
    Watkins Allergy & Asthma Clinic
    Winterguard
    WJXT Moms
    Yofrodipity's New Menu!

    RSS Feed

Picture

Menu

Subscribe
Advertise
Contact
People
Home & Style
Real Estate

Past Issues



Restaurant Reviews
Current Issue
Best of St. Johns
Best of Food & Wine
Health and Wellness
Special Needs
Summer Camps
& More


Welcome to St. Johns Magazine, the premier lifestyle media company in St. Johns, Florida and the heart of Northern St. Johns, dedicated to celebrating life & style in our vibrant Communities.

We know and love the region of Northern St. Johns and each issue is filled with beautiful photography and thoughtfully curated articles that aim to inform, entertain and inspire our readers. Features include stories on local people, business leaders, arts and entertainment, top food and drink destinations, local heroes, and fun things to do.

Launched in 2012, Johns Magazine publishes twelve times a year. It is available in print and online at Stjohnsmag.com and distributed free of charge to SELECT homes in northern St. Johns via US Postal Service.​
Contact Us
​[email protected]

904-687-8538
©2012-2025 All Rights Reserved 
St. Johns Magazine LLC

Website design by Deborah Gaylord, Catitude Creative & Co
  • Home
  • Life & Style
    • Features
    • People & Events
    • Advice for Pet Lovers
    • Home & Style blog
    • Real Estate >
      • Real Estate St. Johns BLOG
      • Featured Communities >
        • Focus on Trailmark
        • Focus on Shearwater
        • Focus on Nocatee
        • Age Restricted Communities
    • Travel
  • Dining
    • Local Restaurant Reviews
    • Local Chefs Series
    • Coastal Home Group's Favorite's
    • Restaurant Guide
  • Current Issue
  • Best of St. Johns
    • Best of Food & Wine 2024
    • Best of St. Johns 2025
  • Local Stuff
    • Calendar
    • Guide to Health & Wellness >
      • BLOG Health & Wellness Providers BLOG
    • Special Needs & Autism Resources >
      • SJM Autism Blog
    • Guide to Non-profits
    • Guide to Established Neighborhoods
    • Guide to New Neighborhoods
    • Summer Camp
    • After School
    • Trivia Nights
    • Parks in St. Johns
    • Beaches
    • Farmer's Markets
    • Golf Courses
  • Advertise
    • Partner with Us
    • About Us
    • Past Issues
    • Contributors