By Greg Nikkel
When baby Cali Hodgkin was born on Nov. 24 at the Regina General Hospital, she was only 24 weeks and six days in gestation, and weighed 1.7 pounds.
She entered the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital, and ended up staying there for 87 days, as mom Dallen and dad Dean lived down the hallway from the NICU in the hostel set up for parents with premature babies. Dallen and Dean were finally able to bring Cali home on Feb. 19, and Dallen said she is doing very well right now, and weighs about six pounds.
She had high praise for the care that Cali received in the NICU, and wants to help give back to them by hosting a fundraising event in Weyburn, with all proceeds to go towards the NICU to help buy equipment for the unit.
The fundraiser will be held on Saturday, March 5 at the Velour Hair Studio, where all stylists will be ready to cut or style for anyone who comes in and gives a donation. There will be cupcakes available for purchase, plus there will be raffle tickets for a number of items that have been donated by local area businesses, with tickets for the raffle available right now at three for $5, and will be sold until the end of day Saturday.
Some of the items include beauty products, massages, jewelry, eyelash extensions and numerous other items donated by local businesses.
“The city has been really generous in donating items for the raffle,” said Dallen.
Asked how she would describe the care they received at the NICU, she said, “It’s pretty incredible there. They really just become family, because you see them all day, every day, and I had complete faith in every nurse and every doctor, because they really know what they’re doing.”
She was also very grateful that she and Dean were able to stay in the hostel which is located just down the hallway from the neonatal unit, and they were allowed to go in to see their baby girl any time of the day.
Noting the unit receives many donations to go towards the expensive equipment needed to care for premature babies, she is hoping this fundraiser will bring in a lot of money to help them out.
She will be presenting the proceeds to the NICU at a two-day Z99 radiothon which will be held in the Cornwall Centre on March 17-18.
Dallen will be appearing at the radiothon on Mar. 17 around 2 p.m. to speak about her family’s experiences.
She didn’t realize how many local families have needed the services of the neonatal unit until they saw a number of other couples there with their babies.
“It really does help to hear everyone else’s stories. Even for families here in Weyburn, it’s the only place to go if you’re going to have a premature baby, even if it’s just for a couple days or a week, or longer stays like we had,” said Dallen. “I’m just very thankful for the care we received, and the support that people in Weyburn have given us since we’ve been back. People we don’t even know have reached out to help with the fundraiser.”
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is located in the Rawlco Centre for Mother-Baby Care at the Regina General Hospital. The unit sees between 600 and 700 babies from 24 to 42 weeks old come to the unit each year.
Some only need to stay a few hours, while others, like Cali, need longer time to be cared for.
The NICU includes the Special Care Nursery for baby who require less intensive care. The unit has capacity for 29 babies.
Some of the health care concerns the unit deals with include respiratory distress, heart defects or complications from the delivery.
Twins and triplets may also need the NICU as they have a higher incidence of being underweight or premature. Babies who like Cali are born at between 24 and 27 weeks need more intensive care as they are very fragile and are more susceptible to complications.
Each nurse in the unit cares for one to four babies, and do everything from changing diapers, taking their weight or comforting them when they cry.
