Foundation helps Bluffton firefighter: “It was so beneficial”

February 14, 2024

The South Carolina Firefighters Foundation exists in part to support our members and their families. Support can mean a lot of things—a wheelchair ramp installation, scholarships for school, and funds for cancer treatment, just to name a few.

For Bluffton Township Fire Department firefighter Brandon Driscoll, support meant finding a way for him and his high-risk pregnant wife, Stephanie, to stay within 15 minutes of Savannah Memorial Hospital. The commute from the Driscoll home to Savannah Memorial is an hour on a good day; it was clear from moment they knew the severity of the situation that they would have to plan to stay long-term.

The Driscolls found out Stephanie was 2 centimeters dilated at 24 weeks and 4 days during a routine appointment on Monday, October 2. They had just gotten back from vacation, excited to start nesting and celebrate a new life at their first baby shower the following weekend. They had just started telling people they were expecting. The nursery wasn’t set up yet. Not even in the third trimester, the news that Stephanie was in labor was a shock.

“Stephanie was totally healthy, baby was totally healthy. They still to this day have no idea why she came early,” Brandon said. “The doctors kept stressing to us, ‘24 weeks and 5 days is significantly better than 24 weeks and 4 days,’” he continued.

They were admitted to Savannah Memorial Hospital where they would stay for eight days. After the eight-day mark, the Driscolls were discharged with orders from the doctor to stay within 10-15 minutes of the hospital. If labor were to progress quickly, the baby would need immediate attention.

Blessings poured in from every corner. Brandon’s and Stephanie’s families took turns staying at their house and pet sitting; Brandon’s crew at Bluffton took care of their long-term apartment rental and set up a Venmo for people to donate to. Brandon was able to take advantage of Bluffton’s generous FMLA policy and while Stephanie was able to do the same at her job, her FMLA leave was unpaid.

“We essentially went to a one-income household,” he remembered, “All the guys paid for fuel, groceries, for all of our expenses.”

Brandon is a member of SC-Task Force 4 and was scheduled to be in Columbia for training when word about the Driscoll’s hardships got to State Fire Marshal Jonathan Jones. Chief Jones recommended Brandon look into the South Carolina Firefighters Foundation grant.

“The Foundation grant helped tremendously. It went entirely to Stephanie’s bills, because when that stuff starts rolling in, it’s just like ‘holy cow,’” he said. “We didn’t have to think about it. It was so beneficial. I could pay it, forget about it, and be done with it…that was super huge to be able to do that. That chapter was closed.”

“Bills, food, expenses, the rent, everything was completely covered by all entities which was amazing,” Brandon said.

“From 24 weeks and 4 days when we were admitted, we didn’t do anything until we got to 28 weeks,” he recalled. “Then we said let’s walk down the street and back, let’s just get out and get some fresh air… We did that until 32 weeks and then we started counting down the days until we could go home.”

At 32 weeks, the doctors at Savannah Memorial were comfortable letting Stephanie go home. She’d reached each important milestone, and every day she stayed pregnant was a bonus. The Driscolls were planning to pack up and head home on Saturday, December 3.

On Thursday, December 1, they went out for pancakes to celebrate.

“She started having some pain, so we went to the hospital. That day our daughter was born,” Brandon said. However, they weren’t in the clear just yet; baby Driscoll would stay three weeks in the NICU.

But prayers continued to be answered. They were discharged from the hospital on December 21, just in time for Christmas.

“We stopped at Cahill’s on the way home and bought the last Christmas tree they had,” Brandon said. “And obviously, life hasn’t slowed down since then.”

“We joke about it at the house because obviously she’s a newborn screaming and crying with terrible messes in her diaper, but I’m like, the crazy thing is though, I’ll take this any day of the week over anything we had to do before this,” Brandon continued, “I’ll take a screaming, crying baby all day every day to know she is alive and she’s screaming cause she’s hungry cause she’s chunky and healthy.”

We’re deeply honored to play a small role in the Driscoll’s journey to parenthood. Thank you, Brandon and Stephanie, for allowing us to share your story and celebrate baby’s arrival.

Welcome to the world, River Birdie Driscoll!