Parents and care providers in Sanford Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, welcomed a new volunteer this September. Sanford Health president and CEO Bill Gassen popped in to read to the organization’s smallest patients during an international NICU read-a-thon.
“Such a blessing to be able to spend some time here with little Hattie and the rest of the care team up here in the NICU,” said Gassen, holding a little girl. “It really reminds you what matters most and really the true reason why Sanford Health exists.”
The friendly competition between NICUs encourages staff to interact with patients by reading books out loud. Babies With Books, the group organizing the event, says reading in the NICU is important for speech and language development.
“The more you talk to them, the more interaction they get,” mom Audrey Winckler said. “I feel like that just helps them be more comfortable and do better too.”
‘Well taken care of and loved’
Winckler’s son Liam is in the NICU and almost healthy enough to graduate. At 27 weeks pregnant, the 3rd grade teacher started having contractions and was flown from Yankton to Sioux Falls in a helicopter.
“Once we got up here, everyone that we had taking care of us was just so great right away, honestly,” Winckler said.
Born June 30, Liam had underdeveloped lungs and several complications in the weeks to follow. He started turning the corner in August, and his care team removed his ventilation tube while Winckler attended her hometown rodeo with family.
“In the background I could hear him crying and I just became a blubbery mess because that was the first time I heard him cry. It was just so sweet. It was a really big victory for us,” Winckler said.
The next victory will be for Liam to start nursing and bottling.
“When I can’t be here, I know he’s so well taken care of and loved. I see it on the nurses every time and our doctors. They know him so well too. That makes it easier for me to be home if I need to,” Winckler said.
‘I know we’re in the right hands’
Part of the reason Gassen jumped at the chance to read to Winckler’s son and others is that his own family has NICU history.
“We did have an experience with our oldest daughter who when she was born spent some time in the NICU,” said Gassen, a father of five.
“How fortunate we are in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and really the whole entire region, to have available to us talented teams of specialists and subspecialists that allow families that need to spend some time with their little loved ones, to be able to do that closer to home.”
Gassen admits reading “Pout-Pout Fish” to babies during the read-a-thon is also a great way to serve others.
Watching Gassen hold her child Archer, Mallory Iwan is amazed by how far her son has come.
“Just the fact that he can hear normal voices now and be rocked, it’s really cool to see,” Mallory said.
Archer arrived weighing in at 1 pound, 4.5 ounces, when Mallory was 22 weeks pregnant.
“We had a lot of troubles with conceiving him. Had a couple of losses. So, when we finally got pregnant with him, (we were) super excited. Then started having complications with him around 15 weeks,” Mallory said.
She adds her Sanford care team was “amazing, absolutely amazing. After he was born, not even a minute later, the doctor came in right away. ‘He’s intubated. He’s doing good. You focus on you.’ From that moment, I was like, I know we’re in the right hands.”
‘Thank you to the families’
It was minute-by-minute at times on whether Archer would make it. Now the family is proud to say they’ve been in the NICU for more than 110 days.
“Proud is a good word but just grateful really. I can’t believe how big he is to when he first came,” dad Tanner Iwan said. Archer now weighs more than 5 pounds.
Tanner is able to work while Archer gets big and strong. He credits his wife and the caregivers for his peace of mind.
“She’s extremely resilient and tough,” Tanner said regarding Mallory. “She shows it every day. She shows up here and spends the vast majority of her days here.”
“It’s just been a great experience here considering the circumstances.”
Before wrapping up his volunteer effort, Gassen had this message for the families spending time in the NICU.
“Thank you to the families who are trusting us to provide care to their children. Thank you for the families that trust us to hold their little treasures in our arms and to be able to take care of them,” Gassen said.
Learn more
- MoMo twins bring two Bismarck families together at Sanford
- ‘Micropreemie’ unit opens with help from local co-op
- Sanford NP reaches out with free books at child visits
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Posted In Children's, Community, Pregnancy, Sioux Falls
