Git-R-Done Foundation Pledges Gift to Bryan Health
Larry the Cable Guy’s Git-R-Done Foundation held its annual golf classic today, raising money for children's and veterans charities across the country. The lead gift will benefit Bryan Health by providing funds to purchase new infant panda warmers for premature and newborn babies.
Infant panda warmers are a critical tool for newborns who experience thermal instability after delivery. Babies can struggle to regulate their body temperature after birth, losing one to two degrees after only 30 minutes. An infant panda warmer provides the warmth needed to maintain appropriate body temperature. It also has the ability to supply oxygen and provide vital statistics. It’s an important tool in saving a baby from infant mortality.
Delivery at 25 Weeks
Maggie and Dusten Bruss are from Wilber, a town just south of Lancaster County. In 2016, the couple was pregnant with twins, their first children. After Maggie returned home from a walk with her sister, she noticed light bleeding. Only a few hours later, her water suddenly broke. She called Dusten at work. He rushed home, picked her up and they hurried to Lincoln.
Once they arrived at Bryan, doctors quickly tried to stop or slow down labor. They were unsuccessful. At 25 weeks’ gestation, Maggie was forced to deliver. On March 9, 2016, she gave birth to twins, Etta and Lane. Each weighed only one pound, 10 ounces.
Being premature, the twins needed immediate medical attention. Etta and Lane were quickly placed in their own panda warmers after birth. The device allowed doctors and nurses to provide oxygen, regulate temperatures, monitor vital signs and provide medications.
Four Months in the NICU
“At 25 weeks, it’s critical we have all our team members and equipment in place to do what’s needed to care for these babies. It’s much different than a 40-week delivery,” said Stephanie Johnson, nurse manager of the NICU. “That night, I remember seeing the reaction on Dusten’s face after the twins were born, almost being in shock. It’s just not an experience anyone is prepared for.”
The Bruss family would spend four months in the NICU at Bryan. Their stay was filled with a rollercoaster of emotions, good days and bad days. Today, Etta and Lane are happy, healthy kids. Lane enjoys playing sports, including baseball and wrestling. Etta loves music and dancing. Maggie and Dusten later welcomed a third child to their family, Jovie.
“It’s hard to reflect back on it because we’re a normal family and I tend to forget where we came from,” Dusten said. “In the NICU, we witnessed parents go home without a baby. That’s hard to talk about because as I think about it now, I couldn’t imagine life without our three kids.”
Technology Saved the Twins
“I think back and wonder if we would’ve had our kids 20 years ago, would they have survived? Maybe not,” Maggie added. “It was the technology. They were in the panda warmers because they couldn’t regulate their temperatures. They could not do that by themselves.”
Bryan Health has been the lead beneficiary of proceeds from the Git-R-Done Golf Classic for a number of years. The partnership helped Bryan build a NICU Rooftop Healing Garden, install Angel Eye Camera Systems in every room, purchase cerebral function monitors to help diagnose and treat infant seizures and also obtain photo retina scanners to examine premature babies’ eyes.
These projects have impacted thousands of patients and their families in the NICU at Bryan Medical Center, just like the Bruss’.
“I couldn’t imagine a better group of people taking care of our children,” Dusten said of the doctors and nurses in the NICU at Bryan Medical Center. “Simply put, the twins wouldn’t be here with us if it wasn’t for them. We’re eternally grateful.”
