WINCHESTER/INDIANAPOLIS — For 22-year-old Emma, the journey of motherhood didn’t begin with a nursery and a homecoming; it began with a 1-pound, 3-ounce “fighter” and a 118-day residency in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital (Ascension St. Vincent).
Her daughter, Khalliope “Kali” Jo Handlon, was born at just 26 weeks on November 12, 2025. What began as a medical journey soon devolved into what Emma says was a series of facility-acquired infections, indifferent administration, and a failure of sanitary standards.
The trouble began in Winchester at Ascension St. Vincent. Despite experiencing multiple instances of bleeding and severe pelvic pressure while only 25 to 26 weeks pregnant, Emma reports that her concerns were repeatedly “pushed off” by hospital staff. “The hospital told me, they said, just eat more red meat,” Emma recalled. “I told them about the pressure and they were like, ‘Well, you’re just having Braxton Hicks contractions. You’re fine.’ And they sent me home.”…