If you've driven on the I-5 freeway in Portland, or been to a Blazers game at the Moda center, chances are you've driven right past the kite logo on the side of Randall Children's Hospital and not even known it. Randall Children's Hospital NICU is an ultra modern addition to the sprawling Legacy Emanuel Campus offering the highest level NICU care available in the state.  They boast the highest survival rates for babies with chronic lung disease and survival rates for infant patients who fully recover are some of the best in the nation.  They have 45 beds in 38 rooms, along with a Mobile ICU van equipped to transport infants at any time of the day or night, known as the KIDS Team. 

I'd driven right past the blue and red-checkered kite on the side of the campus building dozens of times in my six years living in Portland but the first time I had reason to enter was just after giving birth to my son, Milo. After a long period of painful labor, Milo was delivered by unplanned surgery. He was rushed off to another room just minutes after being delivered because the multiple doctors present noticed his complexion was indicative of insufficient oxygen levels. By the time my husband and I were allowed to hold him, it was late into the night and all three of us were exhausted. The next morning, just when we thought we were over the hurdle, a nurse noticed some irregular movements Milo was making and within an hour, the KIDS Team were loading his incubator into their mobile-ICU and rushing him off to Randall’s while we hastily packed up and followed in our car. 

Upon arrival, a neurologist diagnosed Milo with blood clots in his brain that had already caused several strokes and were presently the cause of seizures that Milo would need immediate sedatives for in order to prevent from happening again. 

Multiple tests and subsequent conversations with the doctors and specialists revealed the necessity of prolonged treatment and a lengthy stay at the NICU. Being told we wouldn't be leaving the hospital with our baby was heart wrenching, but walking down the hall of the NICU past the other patient’s rooms, where the names of other newborn babies adorned the eaves over the doors, was even more difficult.  There were many babies who had already been there a long time - long enough to have their doors decorated with cartoon animal stickers and paper badges that marked milestones along their recovery– things like "today I got to snuggle with my dad," or "I got my feeding tube removed today," or "I breathed on my own today." The severity of our situation settled in, as did a terrifying sense of the struggle that awaited our vulnerable little boy, brand new to the sensations of human perception. As the day progressed, we met the team of resident nurses and physicians at Randall, all of them smart, compassionate experts who would care for Milo till he was ready to come home. 

Our Milo healed much more quickly than anyone expected, and is now seizure-free, thanks in large part to the prompt and thorough care he received at the NICU.  I'm so grateful to the Randall Children's NICU team of doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, anesthesiologists, office managers, and volunteers who taught us so much. We know there are so many more children and babies who will be cared for at Randall Children's Hospital, and so this Impact Day we are making a donation in Milo's name, in gratitude for their incredible team.  If you feel so inclined, I’d invite you to join in donating.