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December 5, 2025 • 12 mins

Joey just lost his wife after a c-section that went wrong, leaving four kids without their mother. Thanks to Treasure Island Resort & Casino and Holiday Station Stores.

DONATE to Christmas Wish: www.kdwb.com/wish.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
We are here with another Christmas wish live as it
happens in the studio.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Is Cody, Hi? Cody?

Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hello, Cody is here to do a Christmas wish for
your friend Joey. How do you know Joey?

Speaker 3 (00:14):
I grew up with Joey since middle school, Okay, kind
of been friends since a young age.

Speaker 4 (00:20):
And we're actually roommates in our college years.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
And where did you go to school with, Joey?

Speaker 4 (00:26):
Dc TC Dakota Technical College.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
O kidding? Okay?

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Cool?

Speaker 3 (00:29):
Yeah, Okay, a few classes out there. And we're also roommates,
you know, living in doing the college life.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
So you've known each other for a very long time.

Speaker 4 (00:36):
Yeah, I would say about seventeen years.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Seventeen years, okay.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
And Joey's going through something right now that is awful
and we want to help Joey out. So we have
done a Christmas wish. We've sent our friend Brandon from
college muscle movers over to what part of town is
he in?

Speaker 4 (00:52):
I lives in rose Mount next to the new Lifetime.

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Actually are you and rose Mount right now? Rob? Brandon?
You're in the right place.

Speaker 4 (01:00):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Brandon's there to deliver things and we've got all the
wish stuff loaded up into a truck and Brandon will
be walking that in if you need some don't move yourself.
Don't move yourself, You're gonna hurt your back and drop
something valuable. Higher College muscle movers and Brandon and able
to take care of it. And it's College musclemovers dot com.

(01:23):
Is that right, Brandon, that's College musclemovers dot com. Brandon,
thanks for all your help, and please hold to stand by.
We're gonna call right now Joey and see we can
get Joey on the phone and then let him know
about this Christmas wish. Did you have some sort of
a ploy Cody to make sure he answered the phone.

Speaker 4 (01:43):
We just told him that there was going to be
a surprise.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
He's got a good group of friends that are, you know,
trying to be a support forum.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
So sure we can get a name and reason for calling.

Speaker 4 (01:52):
I'll see if this person is available.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Watch this you record now.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yes, it's Dave Ryan over at katiewb with good news.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
It's that call screening feature, right screening feature.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
Thanks Dave Ryan.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
Please stay on the line. Thanks Dave Bryan.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Hello, Hello, It's Dave Ryan. How are you Hey? Good Joey,
it is. It is Dave Ryan from Katie WB, and
I'm calling with a friend of yours, Cody, who is
here in the studio with me.

Speaker 2 (02:26):
Say hi, Cody, Hello, Joe. All right, I know what's
what's going on.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Every year we do something called Kati WB's Christmas Wish,
and we always love to call people and give them
some good news in a time that where they've really
been struggling and very challenged. So, your friend Cody wrote
us about your situation and we would like to try
to help your Christmas be a little bit brighter. Do
you have a minute so Cody can read the letter

(02:53):
that he wrote to us. Yeah, okay, here we go, Cody,
whenever you're ready.

Speaker 4 (02:59):
You're Dave Ryan. Joe.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
We'd like to nominate our dear friend Joey Nordstrom for
your Christmas Swish. Joey has been one of our closest
friends for many years, from high school to being roommates
to becoming like family. Additionally, seventeen years ago I lost
my father and Joey was a close friend and stood
by me in those tough days following. Now he's facing
something no one should ever have to endure. The heartbreaking
loss of his wife, Maria, shortly after welcoming their fourth

(03:23):
child into the world. On October sixth, twenty twenty five,
Maria went in for a planned c section to deliver
their baby girl. What would have been a joyful day
turned tragic when she suffered a wear amniotic fluid embolism,
leading to a massive bleeding clots and a cardiac arrest.
She fought bravely for twenty two days surrounded by her
loving family, but sadly passed away, leaving behind her husband

(03:44):
and their four beautiful children, Ray, Lizzie, Chris, and newborn Isabella.

Speaker 4 (03:50):
Maria was the heart of their.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Home, a devoted wife, loving mom, preschool teacher, and a
dear friend to so many. She was the kind of
person who eradicated kindness, patience, and warned. Losing her has
left an eight that words can't truly capture. Since her passing,
Joey has shown incredible strength and grace. Overnight he became
a single dad to four young children, doing everything he

(04:12):
can keep their lives steady and filled with love while
quietly carrying his own grief. He's a humble, private person
who never asks for help, and even when he's overwhelmed,
but when quiet strength, he's doing what every loving parent does,
putting his children first, one day at a time.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
I hear somebody in the background, Joey, who if you
got in the.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Background, that's my son Chris.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
And Chris is four.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Chris is four and he wants dad's attention. You know,
I don't want to dwell on it, but we've all
known somebody who has gone in for a planned sea section.
My wife has gone in for two planed sea sections,
and it is it's a day where it's like, you know,
there's some you know, some nerves and some anxiety or whatever,
but you expect a wonderful outcome and a two or
three day res recovery before she's able.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
To come home. And that just had to been just
a horrible shock. And then she.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
Fought for twenty two days. So she's only been gone
for a few weeks. Yeah, like about in a month.
We can't even imagine. I mean, that's just again, it's
one of those things where joy turns to just something
awful so quickly. And here you are with four kids
all of a sudden, and you know, it sounds like

(05:28):
you've got a lot of support, a lot of friends,
family around things like that. Now we don't know you,
but when we heard about your story, we said, hey,
we want to help out with Joey and see if
we can do a Christmas wish. So we've got some
things to make your holiday. I don't know, brighter is
the word, better is the word, but at least to
let you know that you're loved and supported and people

(05:52):
are rooting for you. Little Isabella is two months old now,
so we've got some things for little Isabella. We got pajamas,
and we got some girl dresses and things like that.
And they got her some toy sets to make noise
and you know, things the kids do and we'll do,
including a light up rattle, which sounds awesome. Little Chris, Chris,

(06:15):
that's the kid that's there right now.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
He is four.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
We got him just some comfy clothes and some cool stuff.
We got him a light up scooter. We got him
a kinetic sand sandbox set, just just to put some
things under your tree for Christmas because you've got other
things on your mind. We got him hot wheels cars,
we got him magnetiles, and we got a mystery squish
mellow which is kind of cool. Lizzie is how old

(06:40):
is Lizzie'? For Lizzie, we've got a purse, we got
a Smacker's chapstick set, some headbands and bracelets.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Does she like art?

Speaker 1 (06:54):
Yeah, we got her a bunch of art supplies and
we got her a pink cow squish mellow which we
really loved. Raylan is your he's your big man. He's
all of eight years old, right, Yeah, the kids probably
get this age. Do they really comprehend everything that's going on?
Or do they not quite comprehend?

Speaker 2 (07:14):
The Aldus knows. The younger one doesn't really just wonders
where mom is. Yeah, I can't even imagine.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
For Raylan, we've got in a Nintendo switch with Mario
Kart two, really cool. We got him a NERF gun set.
We got him some snow pants, we got him a
Mystery Squish mellow. Just some things again to put under
the tree and to make Christmas a little bit easier.
And then for you, dad, we know that, I mean,

(07:47):
what can you do to make things easier?

Speaker 2 (07:49):
I don't know that.

Speaker 1 (07:50):
We try our best, but we've got one hundred and
one dollars Holiday Station gas card from Holiday Station stores
and they've been amazing.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
You guys.

Speaker 1 (07:57):
They've been giving us free gas every Christmas Wish season,
and I just want to mention for every fuel purchase
now through December seventeenth, they're donating a portion of sales
to Christmas Wish, so make sure you fuel up at holiday.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
This is one.

Speaker 1 (08:10):
This is what I'm most excited about. Are you ready, Joey? Yeah,
it's a Delta children Jeep Deluxe wrangular wagon they're gonna
ship over to you.

Speaker 2 (08:20):
Do you know? Do you know what that is? Joey?
I don't. I'm going to tell you right now.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
You ever go to the State Fair and you see
some family you lugging around a wagon with seats in
it and a little canopy over the top, and it's giant.
You ever seen one of those? That's what it is. Yeah,
that's what we got for you. We picked it out.
It was really cool. We got the more expensive one
because we don't want the wheels falling off on you.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
So we got that and we're super proud of that.

Speaker 1 (08:44):
A two hundred dollars Target gift card to buy anything
from toothpaste to tie to toilet paper, whatever you need.
Broadway Pizza gift card thanks to Sarah and everybody over
at Broadway Pizza. I love the randomness of this one.
It's an oil change from Valvelin, instant oil change. Thanks
to Amy and everybody at Valveelin for donating. And then
for the family because you are now the parent. Yeah,

(09:11):
and we want your family to continue to have great
experiences despite all the heartache and the grieving. The Minnesota
Zoo heard about this wish and they said, hey, we
can get you guys an annual pass to the Minnesota Zoo.
So when the time is right for you and the kids,
you can go out to the zoo. Thanks to the

(09:32):
Minnesota Zoo for donating. A zoo membership is actually a
perfect holiday gift. I'll give them a little plug. Go
to mnzoo dot org. To wrap up the magic of
the zoo today. I'm picturing you now with your big
jeep regular wagon pulling the kids around the zoo.

Speaker 3 (09:46):
There.

Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, nobody actually is in the wagon. Actually, yeah, that's everywhere.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
I hope you don't mind we bring some humor to
the Christmas briitch because we don't want to get Olmrose.

Speaker 2 (09:57):
Okay good.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
And second, our friends Treasure Island want to give you
and the family, a staycation that includes a two night
hotel stay again when you're ready for it, bowling for
four lagoon passes to the water park, two hundred dollars
in dinner, and and thanks to Treasure Island for helping
us out with that, and and all that's going to
be delivered by a guy named Brandon who's outside your
door right now.

Speaker 2 (10:19):
Joey from college Muscle Movements. All right, all right, how
are you hanging in there? My friend? Ah, hanging in
there as best I can. Kids keep me grounded.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
So yeah, I'm sure it's important to you, know, to
take Have you had time to to take for yourself?
I mean you're so busy making lunches and driving to
this and that. Have you had time to take for yourself?

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (10:46):
A little bit here and there. Okay.

Speaker 1 (10:50):
Well, I hope that we've made you feel loved, appreciated,
scene recognized, and supported, because that's what we want to
do with Christmas.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
Wish and we wish you.

Speaker 1 (11:01):
Yeah, it's hard to say happy holidays, but have the
best possible holiday and keep on being strong for your kids,
because man, I'm sure they just love you to pieces
and look at you, look up to you and rely
on you all the time. Yea, they do, all right, Joey,
I'll let you say goodbye to Cody.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
All right, thanks Cody had no.

Speaker 4 (11:21):
Problem, Joe.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
And that is your Christmas wish. You take care, okay, Yeah,
thank you so much. You're so welcome. You can't even
imagine you guys, you know, going because there's so many
people who listen to the show that have had a
C section. Susan's had two of them. And they're a
serious surgery, they really are. They don't just make a
little cut and there's the baby. They're moving things around.
It's a serious surgery. And this one. I'm so glad

(11:48):
Isabella is still here.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (11:50):
Yeah, it's sad. It's mascuer alert. I feel like, did
we say mascul alert at the beginning.

Speaker 2 (11:55):
Because I was going to Christmas wish? Thank you, Cody.

Speaker 4 (11:59):
Thanks.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
It's one of one point three k D
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