A High-Risk Pregnancy Sends a Canmore Family to Calgary and Brings an Unlikely Christmas Gift

After a high-risk pregnancy kept her in hospital, a Bow Valley nurse found support at Calgary’s Ronald McDonald House and an unexpected surprise from WestJet’s Christmas Miracle.

When complications from her pregnancy escalated this fall, Jessica Boshoff suddenly found herself living not in Canmore, but in a Calgary hospital room. The Canmore Hospital nurse was admitted at 25 weeks after months of monitoring revealed problems with the umbilical cord, placenta, and a hemorrhage that made the pregnancy high risk.

“We had some complications at 11 weeks and had a big bleed,” she said. “Prior to 23 weeks, baby was not viable, so there was nothing we could do. But after then, any bleeds, they would admit me. I was admitted at 25 weeks and we were prepared for an emergency c-section and early delivery.”

Instead, doctors managed to keep the pregnancy stable for another nine weeks, with Boshoff staying inside the hospital full-time. “I spent 9 weeks in hospital, ate 183 hospital meals and spent more than 11,000 hours being monitored,” she said.

For Bow Valley families, major medical issues often mean leaving home entirely. Calgary is the nearest centre for high-risk maternity care, neonatal intensive care, and specialized monitoring, which creates a logistical and financial strain that many residents know well. With Boshoff unable to leave the hospital, her husband, Dale, and their four-year-old daughter, Emily, moved into Ronald McDonald House, which provides accommodation and support for families receiving treatment in Calgary hospitals.

Making a Temporary Home in Calgary

For Emily, the stay quickly became its own routine. Ronald McDonald House offered daily crafts, games, volunteer-cooked meals, haircuts, and free shuttles to and from the hospital.

“They loved the house,” Boshoff said. “My daughter became friends with other children, and being closer to the hospital meant I could see them every day. It made the hospital days go faster and my mental health much better.”

The experience also revealed the quiet community that forms inside the House, a mix of families facing different challenges but bonded by similar uncertainty. “Everyone in the house is battling something and yet there is a mutual understanding and kindness,” she said. “Everyone was counting down until delivery with us and provided so much support.”

A Christmas Campaign Brings an Unexpected Reunion

In late November, WestJet visited the House as part of its annual WestJet Christmas Miracle campaign, which this year featured families staying at Ronald McDonald Houses across the country. The short film, released last week, includes Boshoff’s family among the participants.

Families were ushered into a decorated room to receive gifts. A WestJet representative told the room: “We know most families say that staying at Ronald McDonald is hard because you are away from family, so we have one more surprise for you.”

For the Boshoffs, that surprise was thousands of kilometres away until it was not. The airline had flown Dale’s parents from Australia to Calgary, giving the family its first reunion in nearly three years.

“My husband knew they were coming, as he had to choose who to bring,” Jessica admitted. “But in walked his parents and I burst into tears. They have never been to Canada, and have not seen their granddaughter in almost 3 years.”

Their daughter reacted immediately. “I thought she would be shy, but she straight away started coloring with her Oumie and clung to her leg.”

The visit meant more than emotional relief. With no family in Canada, the couple had been planning to alternate time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, since young children are not allowed inside. The arrival of Dale’s parents meant the couple could finally be together with their newborn.

“It has made a world of difference,” Boshoff said. “My husband was solo parent while I was in hospital and carrying a lot of stress. Having his parents help lifted a weight off his shoulders.”

A New Arrival and Support From Home

The Boshoffs’ daughter, Brooklyn, was born on December 8 at 34 weeks. She is expected to stay in NICU for several more weeks until she gains weight and can feed independently, but “she is doing so well,” her mother said.

Back home in Canmore, the response has echoed the atmosphere inside Ronald McDonald House. Neighbours and friends have stepped in with donations of clothing, a car seat, and baby supplies, essentials the family had not gathered before Jessica was admitted.

“So many people in the community have donated clothes and a car seat and baby items, as we had nothing prepared before I was admitted,” she said. “It has shown me that we have a family in Canmore.”

A Mountain Town Christmas From Far Away

For Boshoff, this Christmas will not be spent in Canmore. It will be spent in Calgary, inside a house filled with families she met through circumstance, and with two new grandparents who arrived by surprise.

The setting may be different, but the feeling of support, neighbours, and the nearness of family is familiar to anyone who lives in the Bow Valley.

And after nine weeks in a hospital room, she says one thing stands out most.

“Every day I spent in there was a day longer baby was safe inside.”