Against the Odds
Embedded Files
Matilda Hay
Team Okamoto
Story Summary
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Kaylynn Nixon is the first of her family to graduate from college, much to her mother’s pride. She lives with her fiancé, Shannon Sweaney, who doctors told would never have children. Despite always wanting to be a mom, Kaylynn has been making peace with a different path, until a surprise conception reignites her hopes.
To confirm her pregnancy, Kaylynn traveled more than an hour to Poplar Bluff for her first sonogram. She will continue to travel there for every reproductive appointment and for the birth. Since the closure of Kennett’s local hospital six years ago, there has only been one OB-GYN doctor practicing in all three of the Missouri Bootheel’s counties. Missouri ranks as the 44th worst state for maternal mortality in the U.S. According to the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, women in the Bootheel experience worse maternal and infant health outcomes than the rest of the state.
Kaylynn Nixon, 20, runs her hands through her hair as she waits to order lunch at Fazoli’s, an Italian fast food restaurant in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Kaylynn said she’s been craving salty food which, according to an old wives’ tale, suggests she’s carrying a boy.
A photo of Kaylynn kissing her fiancé, Shannon Sweaney, 20, on the cheek is displayed on the mirror in their bedroom at Sweaney’s brother’s home in Holcomb, Mo. Kaylynn recalled that, when driving on their first date, “he did the cutest thing;” he dared her to drive one-handed as a ploy to then hold her free hand.
Kaylynn calms her nerves as a nurse checks her blood pressure ahead of her first sonogram appointment at the Northwest Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Kaylynn and her mother, Christina Nixon, traveled to Butler County, out of the Missouri Bootheel, in order to access their reproductive healthcare.
Kaylynn records a video of her baby’s heartbeat during her sonogram. After the sonogram, Kaylynn's mother said she teared up hearing the heartbeat of her first grandchild.
Kaylynn, center, holds her sonogram images as her mother right, looks on and Dr. John Patty, left, demonstrates the size of the fetus: “a peanut." As she held the sonogram images, Kaylynn exclaimed to herself, “I never thought I’d have one of these.”
Kaylynn texts Shannon the video of their baby’s heartbeat while her mother drives after Kaylynn's doctor's appointment. Kaylynn said the other night Shannon rolled over in his sleep and placed his hand on her belly. “It was so sweet,” Kaylynn said. “He’s thinking about it even subconsciously.”
Kaylynn, left, and her mother browse for baby clothes at the Marshalls department store in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Kaylynn mother said she “can’t wait to buy all the baby things.”
Kaylynn wears a Kennett Indians baseball cap in support of her brother’s eighth grade football game against the East Prairie Eagles at East Prairie Middle School in East Prairie, Mo. Kaylynn said she was especially excited for the buttered popcorn to satiate her salty cravings.
Kaylynn, center right, and her mother, center left, cheer as the Kennett Indians score a touchdown against the East Prairie Eagles. Kaylynn's mother said one of the things she prides herself on as a mother is that she always worked flexible jobs so she could be there for her children’s games and awards “so they always have someone cheering them on.”
Kaylynn and Shannon stroke their dog, Zooma, in their bedroom at Sweaney’s brother’s home in Holcomb, Mo. It is only 8 days until their wedding.
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