Distinctly Montana Magazine

DISTINCTLY MONTANA MAGAZINE • WINTER 2022-23 90 Oaqlynn arrived at 5:07 that morning weighing 1 pound, 11 ounces. She soon dropped below a pound as she struggled to eat (and breathe and digest). Oaqlynn spent 119 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Bene s Health System. "The NICU nurses are angels," Robyn said. "They are the reason I have her. Anywhere else, she would not have lasted. They do their jobs with love and passion, and they're the reason she walks and talks. Everyone should see the miracles they have performed." Oaqlynn, now a thriving 2-year-old, is a testament to the innovation and excellence of the Bene s NICU. "They saved my little angel's life numerous times without even batting an eye," Robyn said. "We are forever grateful for all their love and their knowledge. Thank you, Bene s, for my miracle!" Stories like Oaqlynn's are at the heart of the year-long celebration of the NICU's 50th anniversary, which brought together providers, staff, retirees, NICU families, and NICU graduates – those "tiniest but mightiest of ghters." In 1968, when neonatal intensive care was developing as a eld, babies who weighed 3-4 pounds at birth had a 25% chance of survival. Now it's more than 95%, and the highly specialized care also helps prevent irreversible damage. In 1972, the Deaconess Hospital Medical Center, which later merged with the Columbus Hospital to become Bene s Health System, established a six-bed NICU and an air transport system to y critically ill newborns and their mothers to the hospital through an arrangement with the military. Marlene Lund, RN, was part of the NICU ight team. She remembered babies in isolettes balanced on a helicopter seat and a trash can, and a country landing strip lit by pickup headlights. "We brought babies in on a prayer and a promise," she said. "If they hadn't come, they wouldn't have survived." The Bene s NICU was the rst in Montana and the rst in the state 'Thank You, Bene s, For My Miracle!' Bene s NICU 50th Anniversary Celebrates the 'Tiny but Mighty' Robyn Brantner wept as she was wheeled into the operating room. She was just 24 weeks pregnant, and her baby couldn't survive if she wasn't born immediately – yet she was far too small. When the doctor asked if there was anything she should know, Robyn said, "Make sure my daughter is alive when I wake up."

• Cover