| 2015's
first baby has an adventurous start to life
Idaho County Free Press 
“I was due Dec. 31, so I knew I would be close, but it could be 2014 or 2015,” Moore said. Baby daughter, Azalea Shanae Rhoades, was born Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Cottonwood. She weighed seven pounds, 12 ounces, and was 20-3/4 inches in length. “I was in labor 36 hours in the hospital,” Moore explained. “I was up with her, trying to help as much as I could,” Rhoades added. Moore said nurse Anna Wren was “wonderful,” and helped turn the baby and get her in the correct position to be born at 5:37 p.m., with Dr. Jack Secrest as the physician. “She had a full head of dark hair and olive skin – she really got her daddy’s genes,” smiled blonde-haired, blue-eyed Moore at Rhoades, who is part American Indian. That complexion of the Azalea (pronounced Uh-zay-lee) at first hid what soon Nurse Wren would discover. “I believe God led Anna to check on her when she did and about three hours after she was born she noticed Azalea’s skin looked a little bluish and she discovered her oxygen levels were low,” Moore said. Within a short period of time, Dr. Secrest made the decision to lifeflight by Medstar the newborn to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene. “At first it’s so scary,” Moore shook her head. “I went with her on the plane from the airport in Grangeville,” Rhoades said. “It was my first time ever on a plane.” In a snowy blizzard and with a full medical crew on board, Rhoades took the trip with his daughter while Moore stayed behind to recover from the birth. “It was hard and yet I felt really good about where she would be and that her daddy would be with her,” Moore said. The following day Moore was able to join her family. Baby Azalea thrived, though to be safe, she remained in the NICU and the pediatric unit for the week. “Although we were tired, I felt really peaceful and good about her care – everyone at both hospitals was just so great,” Moore said. The family came home last week and are settling in fine, they said. “It all seems really natural and she’s such a good baby,” Moore said. Moore said she thanks local churches Abundant Life and others who have provided meals for them and prayed for them. “We feel so blessed to live in this community and have all the support and help,” she said. An account has been set up at Potlatch No. 1 Federal Credit Union, Moore said, to help offset the expenses incurred since Azalea’s birth. “Fortunately, her medical is covered but missing work and the travel and food and all has been pretty expensive,” she said. Moore is a waitress at Season’s and Rhoades works for BX Fence and Woods Drywall. Azalea joins a large family who was excited for her arrival, including the following: Grandparents are Tom and Tonya Cassill of Grangeville; Jeff and Melanie Whiteaker of Hines, Ore.; Jeff and Jamie Wallace of Hermiston, Ore.; and Thomas Cullin of White Bird. Great-grandparents are Dennis and Barbara Moore of Grangeville; Dean and Brinda Wood of Grangeville; and Jerry and Jane Wallace of Clarkston, Wash. Azalea also joins a variety of aunts and uncles including Allison Moore of Grangeville; Ashley and Mariah Alencio of Hines, Ore.; Lilly Wallace of Hermiston, Ore; Megan Cassill of Lewiston; Bryce Cassill of Grangeville; great unclud and aunt Joe and Kim Wood of Grangeville; great uncle and aunt Charles Snyder and Sheila Wood of Meridian; and great-great uncle Gene Wood of Grangeville. 
T.J. Rhoades and Ashlynn Shanae Moore with 2015’s first baby in Idaho County, Azalea Shanae Rhoades. |
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