With two sons who spent time in Windsor Regional Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, 15 years later Dr. Sarah Dale and Dr. Todd Small are reflecting back on the lasting impact staff had during their trying times — an experience that inspired them to give back.
Julian and Elliot Small each have a unique story about how they landed in the NICU as newborns.
Julian, now 20 years old, was born with medical complications after a difficult labour and delivery resulting in him spending a week in the NICU.
“We were all new to this. It was our first baby and we didn’t expect to end up in the NICU. Who does right?” says Dale. “We were rocking Julian in a rocking chair that had been donated and we thought, what can we do to help?”
Now, fast forward five years to the birth of Elliot. Dale was scheduled for induced labour as Elliot was nearly two weeks overdue, but the night before her appointment she went into labour.
“We had everything packed and we went to bed. Around midnight I woke and said to Todd, “I’m in labour.” Todd took a quick shower and by the time he got out I said, “You better get in the car right now. This is happening now.” I just knew we might not make it to the hospital,” jokes Dale.
Dale’s husband Todd raced to the hospital, but just didn’t make it in time. Elliot was born in the parking lot of WRH’s Met Campus.
“We were just going to walk in the front doors. My water breaks and I can’t even walk because I’m literally having a baby in the parking lot,” says Dale. “These two women run over and say, “We’re labour and delivery nurses.” It was a clear, warm May night and they delivered Elliot right there in the parking lot. It’s a good thing they were there because he had the umbilical cord around his neck and they were able to safely remove that.”
While Elliot only spent a few hours in the NICU following his birth, Dale says knowing he was in good hands made a tough situation much easier.
“They took Elliot away to the NICU and warmed him up a little bit. He was a little chilly because we were outside. A couple hours later Elliot was in the room with me all warm and cozy. It was a pretty wild experience,” explains Dale.
Seeing the amazing work done by the staff in the NICU sparked a need for the Smalls to give back. The Julian Small NICU Golf Tournament debuted in 2004 going on the raise nearly $700,000 over the six years it was held.
“I was just amazed by the NICU staff. They were outstanding. They really care for you. They make you feel like your baby is an important, top priority. They make you feel comfortable and you know they’re doing the best they can for you,” said Dale. “We were just really struck by the professionalism of the staff, the way they work as a team, everything about it. We knew that we were in good hands.”
Money from the tournaments was used to purchase several pieces of vital equipment for the NICU including new Giraffe Omni-Bed Care Stations – a combined incubator and warmer for infants and preemies.
“The beds were so unique and they allowed more babies to stay in Windsor as opposed to having to go to Toronto or London. I think it’s very important for people to be able to stay in their community while their baby is in the NICU,” explains Dale. “Going to a different city can be very hard for so many reasons. Maybe your partner, your family can’t travel to be with you. So it was just great to be able to give people that comfort of being able to stay in Windsor while they’re going through that tough time.”
While the golf tournament has been put on hiatus, the Small family isn’t ruling out bringing it, or a similar event, back in the future.
“You don’t know too much about the needs of the hospital until you get involved in the fundraising and then your eyes are really opened up. It’s good to educate yourself about different aspects of health care and what’s lacking and little things that can be done to make a patient’s experience better,” says Dale. “The NICU, Hospice, it’s not like the patient chose to be there. It could happen to anybody and isn’t it great to know that someone in your community is trying to make it better for you?”
Today, both Julian and Elliot are happy, healthy, and successful young men. Julian is currently in his second year of Human Kinetics at the University of Windsor while Elliot will be heading into Grade 10 in the fall at St. Anne Catholic High School in Lakeshore. Both enjoy sports like golf and hockey and just about anything outdoors.
Source: Windsor Regional Hospital
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