2 Cars 2 Winners: The Stewart Family!

MONROE, La. (KNOE) - Krew Stewart came into this world without a heartbeat, but he hasn’t missed a beat.

He’s a bundle of energy and it’s a stark contrast to his tough start in life on June 22, 2021.

Kash and Haley Stewart went to St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe when she was about 35 weeks and started having high blood pressure issues.

Haley says doctors planned to induce her.

“Once they came in, they realized his heart rate had dropped, so they rushed me to an emergency C-section and everything kind of just went downhill from there,” explains Haley. “He did not have a heart rate when he came out, so they did CPR and got him back and rushed him to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).”

They say a planned c-section takes about 30 minutes, but doctors were able to get Krew out in 13 minutes.

“After they got him out I never did hear him cry, and I just kept saying hey is he ok and they just said we’re working on him, keep breathing, we’re working on him, we got this and after that, it was seconds later to where they said he’s fine mama we’re taking him back,” explains Haley.

But their journey was far from over.

“She was in worse shape than he was,” says Kash.

“I then hemorrhaged and they were trying to stop the bleeding and while this was going on we had to worry about Krew as well,” says Haley. “They were going to do a hysterectomy at once and then another doctor came in and said hey let’s try a uterine balloon and hopefully it’ll stop the bleeding, and luckily it did stop the bleeding and I was able to get several blood infusions, different iron, and plasma.”

She stayed in the hospital for about as long as Krew did to heal.

Krew went on a cooling blanket for a week to get his body temperature down to 92 degrees. They say doctors hoped it would stop his organs from swelling after his traumatic start in life.

He then spent 14 days in the NICU at St. Francis.

“It was tough, it was very very tough, and, of course, it was right in the middle of COVID-19,” says Kash.

Many of the cooling blankets and other vital equipment in the NICU are purchased by the St. Francis Foundation, a non-profit helping fund Women’s, Children’s, and Critical Care services at the hospital. Funds from their 2 Cars 2 Winners Raffle make it possible for babies, like Krew, to get the best care.

“There was never a moment that you weren’t reassured that everything was going to be ok. Those people are amazing,” says Kash. “The people in that NICU it’s not a job, it’s not a job for them, they love those babies like they are their own and Dr. DeSoler and Dr. Pena both told us they would treat Krew as if he was their own child and so the comfort and the love that’s shown in that place and the spirit of the people in that place is second to none.”

The Stewart Family credits the doctors and staff at St. Francis for giving them a true light and bundle of joy.

“I believe it made him stronger and made him part of who he is today because he’s a two-year-old with a very big mindset, he’s very intelligent,” says Kash.

“They said he would be way far behind and he’s not he’s ahead of all the kids his age he’s talking no health problems,” says Haley.

“We just had our first ear infection and he’s two years old,” says Kash.

When you buy a ticket for the St. Francis Foundation’s raffle, you’re helping families just like the Stewarts have access to a high level of care and not have to travel hours away. St. Francis has Northeast Louisiana’s only Level III NICU and Level II PICU.

Not only does a $50 ticket give back to the community, but you’re entered for a chance to win a 2023 Nissan Titan Pro-4X or 2023 Toyota 4Runner SR5 Premium.

You can buy a ticket online here or at Ouachita Valley Federal Credit Union locations, Creed & Creed, Sparks Nissan, Van-Trow Toyota, the St. Francis Medical Center Gift Shop, or the St. Francis Community Health Center.

If you buy a ticket between October 9 and 13 at noon, you’ll be entered for a chance to win an extra $2,500 in the Vantage Last Chance Cash Blast.

Ticket sales close on October 18 at midnight, and the drawing will happen live on KNOE at 6 p.m. on October 24.

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