Community Health & Wellness

After 50-day stay in NICU, this family wanted to give back

Having a baby in the NICU, or neonatal intensive care unit, is a unique experience. Tessa and Jack Lindley know that all too well.

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Their identical twins spent 50 days in the NICU at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma last year. Witnessing the hardship of other families motivated them to do something to help.

Jack is a chiropractor, and together the couple run Lindley Chiropractic Health. They are collecting Orca cards and grocery store gift cards to deliver to St. Joe’s NICU families.

Jack and Tessa Lindley visited their twin babies frequently when they were in the NICU at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. Not all families of NICU babies are so lucky, so the couple is collecting gift cards to deliver to St. Joe’s the first week of February. Photo courtesy of Tessa and Jack Lindley

The NICU experience

The Lindleys’ twins were born nine weeks before their due date. Tessa said she and Jack were prepared — somewhat.

The pregnancy had complications, and they knew their babies would be in the St. Joe’s NICU for a while. But they didn’t know it would turn into a 50-day stay. The twins came home on Sept. 26 and are doing well.

They felt fortunate to live close enough to the hospital to visit each day, Tessa said. The couple watched other parents visit infrequently due to distance and financial strain. Some families had babies born prematurely, like the Lindley twins, but in other cases the children had even more serious complications.

“A lot of people come in and it’s a surprise after delivery,” Tessa said. “Some were multiple hours away, and could only come on weekends when the husband was off work. Nobody plans for that. And yes, the hospital covers the needs of the baby, but there’s so much more.”

Financial stress, travel time, and the costs of travel and meals add up. Some babies need to remain in the NICU for months.

Tessa Lindley felt fortunate to live so close to St. Joseph Medical Center that she was able to visit her twins often when they spent 50 days in the NICU in Tacoma. She witnessed other families who experienced financial strain and traveled long distances to be with their babies. She and her husband, Jack, are collecting gift cards for NICU families. Photo courtesy of Tessa and Jack Lindley

Food and transit cards

Tessa knew she wanted to help. She asked what the families needed most.

“I reached out to the NICU department at St. Joe’s to ask what they need, and they said the biggest way to support families in the NICU is to provide food and Orca cards,” she said. Orca cards cover fares on most transit agencies in the region. “We thought it would be a great way to support those families. ”

The goal is to donate $100 to 50 families — one family for each day that their twins were in the NICU, she said.

Donations are being accepted through Jan. 30, and can be dropped off at the front desk of Lindley Chiropractic at 7901 Skansie Ave. Suite 205.  Cash donations will be turned into gift cards as well., she said. The donations will be delivered to St. Joe’s the first week of February.

Lindley Chiropractic is accepting donations of orca and grocery store gift cards for donation to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma. Photo courtesy of Tessa and Jack Lindley