On Jan. 2, two Rockaway residents celebrated the birth of their child, the first baby to be born at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital (SJEH) in 2021.
The hospital reported the happy news about the birth of Treasure Storm Witcher, born on Jan. 2 to Taniqua Dicy Bradley and her fiancé Thomas Franklin Witcher. The newest member of the Bradley-Witcher family measured in at 19.5 inches and weighed 6 pounds and 12 ounces.
Seven years ago, Bradley and Witcher moved to the Rockaways and witnessed firsthand the positive changes to the hospital’s facility and treatment, especially in the women’s health department.
When Bradley faced a diagnosis of preeclampsia, a potentially dangerous pregnancy complication accompanied by high blood pressure, she put her prenatal care in the hands of the experienced SJEH team.
“St. John’s provided all the right and necessary tools for a successful pregnancy,” said Bradley. “For me, it was important to see a hospital like St. John’s offer a labor and delivery unit available to the people on the Peninsula. As a patient, you become like family. Otherwise, I would have had to travel far to deliver my baby which would have been very challenging!”
Despite losing her father to complications of cancer and COVID-19 last April, Bradley said that the news of her pregnancy “gave her comfort and joy of life” in the subsequent months.
Following baby Treasure’s birth, SJEH provided the family with the essentials, including diapers, baby care supplies, a diaper bag filled with clothing and other goods and a baby monitor from Long Island-based company Jzanus.
