It was April 20, 2014 when Jessica and Trent Duncan’s lives changed in the blink of an eye. They were driving to Easter dinner about 30 minutes outside their hometown of Carrier Mills, Illinois, when their car collided head-on with a three-quarter-ton pickup truck.

Miraculously, Jessica, Trent and their 3-year-old daughter, Brooklynn, all survived the accident. However, Jessica was 23-weeks-pregnant at the time. Terrified for her baby’s life, Jessica was taken to Carbondale so that doctors could check on the baby, while Trent was airlifted to a medical center in Paducah, Kentucky, for extensive injuries to his arm.

Jessica’s test results were normal, so she traveled to Paducah to be near Trent, who was recovering from surgery to repair his arm. However, while she was there, Jessica experienced complications with her pregnancy and was admitted to a hospital in Marion, Illinois, where she learned that she would need to be airlifted to St. Mary’s Medical Center in St. Louis.

Knowing that their wedding, which was now just three days away, would have to be cancelled, Jessica and Trent decided to get married in the hospital before their transfer. Jessica and Trent called the priest and family members while Jessica’s team of nurses made sure there was a cake, a veil, and even a bouquet of flowers. They were married that afternoon, one hour before Jessica boarded a helicopter to St. Louis.

One day after arriving at St. Mary’s Medical Center, Jessica suffered a placental abruption, most likely caused by bruising from the accident. On April 24, 2014, in the 24th week of her pregnancy, doctors performed an emergency C-section. Aiden Duncan was born weighing just 1 pound, 3 ounces. He was immediately transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center.

After she was released from St. Mary’s, Jessica spent the night in the NICU so she could be near Aiden, but she worried where she would stay for the many months ahead.

The next day, her prayers were answered: a room opened up at the Ronald McDonald House, just two blocks away from the NICU. “Because of the Ronald McDonald House, we are able to take care of our child,” says Jessica. “It’s been wonderful.”

In a matter of one week, the Ronald McDonald House had become their “home-away-from-home” and would be for months to come while Aiden continued to receive medical treatment. “Above all, it’s given us peace of mind, knowing that we are so close to our son,” says Trent.

“I’ve always heard of the Ronald McDonald House, and I gave my change at McDonald’s,” says Jessica, “But I never knew how much it helped people whose world is falling apart.”