*there's 3 strangers who saved my son's life

This one was fun to put together.

Click on their names to read more about them.

1. Mildred Stahlman -Will was born at VUMC which houses a small 16 bed NICU named after this doctor. She developed the first neonatal ventilator without which Will would not have survived. Will has spent about 35 days total on a pediatric ventilator.**

(image courtesy of Vanderbilt Reporter)

2. Martha Lott - the premature infant that was the first to use that ventilator. She grew up and became one of Will's NICU nurses. About 48 years and 1 month after she was born she was assigned to Will for about 3 days. She doesn't wear a button that says "I'm the first ventilator preemie" or anything like that...another nurse told me the story so I looked her up and found these articles. If you click this link you'll find another article about Martha. My favorite part is when Dr. Stahlman says "If she hadn't survived, I would have probably never put another baby on the machine."

Thanks Martha. 

(image courtesy of Vanderbilt Alumni Point of View)

3. David Bichell - Will's heart surgeon. I can't ever come up with much to say about him. Maybe there just aren't words.

(image courtesy of Vanderbilt University Medical Center website)

 **If you have heard me complain about how much I dislike that NICU ventilator, my feelings haven't changed. I was unsettled during every minute of that necessary evil. I can still recall the beeping sound it makes in my head out of nowhere.

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week 2011