For Dr. Julia Ryan and soon-to-be Dr. Joseph Ryan, UConn Health is a familiar and comfortable place. She’s a medical school alum now in the pediatrics residency program; he’s weeks away from graduating and has matched into UConn’s radiology residency.
They met as UConn M.D./Ph.D. students and when they had their first date, on April 22, 2016, they could not have known what they would be in for exactly four years later: the birth of their first child – in the middle of a public health crisis.
“As our due date approached, we had some concern that the volume of COVID-19 patients and potentially heavy utilization of resources could impact the level of care in labor and delivery or the maternity ward,” Joe Ryan says. “However, this was not the case. Throughout our stay, we felt really safe and well cared for.”
The day before admission, Julia tested negative for COVID-19. Upon admission, both parents were screened. And in the predawn hours of Wednesday, April 22, in a delivery room where everyone – including mom and dad – were wearing masks, Daniel Thomas Ryan arrived.
“Luckily, labor and delivery patients were still allowed a single visitor, as long as the visitor stays for the entire admission and does not come and go,” Joe says. “We were a little sad that other family members couldn’t visit us in the hospital, but we understand the rationale behind the policy, and we were able to communicate with them by phone and video chat.”
Toward the end of the pregnancy, visitor restrictions kept dad out of the exam room for routine OB appointments.
“Having our first child at John Dempsey Hospital let us experience UConn from a patient perspective, and we could not be more proud to be a part of this great family.”
“Not being able to attend my OB appointments with my husband was initially hard, but fortunately I was always able to use video chat and it felt almost as if he was there by my side,” Julia says. “Our obstetrician, Dr. David Park, was always happy to have Joe call and participate in discussions so it did not feel like we were missing out at all.”
Thanks to technology, dad still was able to see the ultrasounds in real time, even from the parking lot.
“You should not skip prenatal appointments out of fear of coming in contact with COVID-19,” Julia says. “When you come to the hospital, whether for prenatal care or for delivery you will be in really excellent hands, which really helped put us at ease.”
When the time came, they didn’t really know what to expect.
“The nurses and other staff members were extremely helpful and always willing to go out of their way to help us feel supported and well cared for,” Joe says. “Two of our nurses, Amy Crose and Irene Bonati, were especially outstanding, and we are so thankful for everything they did during our stay. The lactation consultant, Marisa Merlo, was also fantastic and really went out of her way to help us learn how to breastfeed properly. We also owe a huge thanks to our regular obstetrician Dr. Park, who was amazing throughout the pregnancy, and Dr. Chris Morosky, who performed the delivery along with the on-call resident, Dr. Annemieke Wilcox.”
With students studying from home and workers working from home, there is an element of fortunate timing to this.
“It has been great having the opportunity to spend as much time as we can with Danny while at home,” Julia says. “We anticipate things becoming much more challenging once we are both working again, but we have a lot of support from family members who live nearby and are very eager to help out, for which we are extremely grateful!”
The family of now three lives in Farmington and is moving to Vernon in May. At the end of June, Dr. Joseph Ryan will start a transitional year program at the Eastern Connecticut Health Network in Manchester, a prerequisite for the four-year radiology residency he’ll return to UConn for in June 2021. Dr. Julia Ryan, who is one year into the three-year pediatrics residency, is on maternity leave.
“The first week of parenthood has been exhausting, but we have loved every minute of it,” Julia says. “It still feels surreal that we are parents and have our beautiful baby boy in our lives. This has been such a huge learning experience and we cannot wait to see what each new day holds.”
“We are so grateful for what UConn Health has done for us,” Joe says. “UConn has been our home for many years. We both received excellent education here as medical and graduate students, and now we are fortunate to continue our education as UConn residents. Having our first child at John Dempsey Hospital let us experience UConn from a patient perspective, and we could not be more proud to be a part of this great family.”
