My name is Jayda Plucker, and on October 20th, I was life flighted from Winner SD, to Sioux Falls SD.  I was 30 weeks pregnant and 178/110 blood pressure, and had the worst headache of my life. On October 21st at 1:17am, I had a beautiful 2 lb 7 oz baby girl, we named Victoria May. She was due December 28th, but unfortunately came 10 weeks early. Because our local hospital is rural and the labor and delivery got shutdown this year, we live 3 hours away from her. 

I am a DSP at my job, meaning I help adults with disabilities live a normal and meaningful life. Administering medication,  keeping them safe and integrated in the community. I am now on maternity leave, but still deal with high blood pressure and take medication for it. My boyfriend, Lucas has worked at Winner Chicken Dinner for the past 3 years, and only making  $14/hr. He is the only one working currently, and we also have a 3 year old son to care for as well. 

We are young parents, and our children are everything to us. We built our life from nothing as teenagers, sleeping on the floor for 2 months in a section 8 apartment. We had nothing to our name, but when we had our son, we worked hard, and now rent a house, and own a car. We know what it’s like to struggle, and we’re back in a spot where we need help the most. Our baby girl will be in the NICU for the next few months until she’s healthy enough to come home, and our bills are adding up. We receive WIC and hopefully can get on Medicaid with our new baby, but we don’t receive any government assistance. Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you!