Mary Ann and Bill Anderson are no strangers to St. Louis Children's Hospital. Their daughter was a patient in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) more than 30 years ago. But recently, they returned to the hospital to tour the NICU—and visit with the WashU Medicine physician—at the beloved institution that saved their daughter's life.

The Andersons came to St. Louis in 1986 after moving from Houston. Several years later, their daughter was born seven weeks early with Hyaline membrane disease (RMD) and pneumonia at Jewish Hospital. Barnes Hospital and Jewish Hospital later merged in 1996 to create Barnes-Jewish Hospital. She was having great trouble breathing and was taken by ambulance to St. Louis Children's, which was the only way to get her there at the time. The staff wasn't sure she would live through the night. RMD, today known as infant respiratory distress syndrome, is a condition that causes babies to need extra oxygen and help breathing. Unfortunately, it also worsens over the first 48 to 72 hours and then improves with treatment. While Mary Ann was recovering from giving birth at Jewish Hospital, her daughter was fighting at St. Louis Children's with the help of then WashU Medicine Division of Newborn Medicine Director F. Sessions Cole, MD. Her came team had been given approval to use a breathing machine to help her lungs along with a medication that, together, would give their daughter the chance to heal. After three weeks in the NICU, she recovered from pneumonia, and her lungs developed enough to allow her to breathe on her own.

The Andersons credit Dr. Cole and his residents with giving their now adult daughter a chance to be a healthy child. For 34 years they've stayed in touch with him. They still send Dr. Cole updates on how she's doing and even recently sent photos of their daughter's wedding, the very daughter who almost passed away in the NICU because she was so sick. They also will never forget the care of one of the NICU nurses, Margaret. "She was very important to us during our daily visits," says Bill and Mary Ann. She eased their anxiety as she encouraged them to look at Amy's progress instead of the various monitors in her hospital room. Margaret worked in the NICU at St. Louis Children's Hospital for more than 30 years, and the Andersons continue to keep in touch with her as well.

Last year, the couple came back to St. Louis Children's Hospital for the first time to take a tour of the NICU, including the NICU area where their daughter stayed. They were excited to see the changes that had been made over the years. "It was just phenomenal to see the rooms are made to assist families," Bill says. "Families can sit down and talk to each other and have quiet time. When we were there, the unit was nothing like it is now. The amenities are phenomenal." The Andersons learned about the new donor-funded AngelEye CameraSystem that allows families the ability to see their new baby at any time. "When we were there, we'd drive down and just wait and see what we'd get," Mary Ann says. "We didn't know anything most of the time." In fact, they were so impressed with the technological advances for parents of NICU babies, they made a gift to support the program.

They also saw the bridge that was built that now enables babies needing NICU services to be quickly walked from Barnes-Jewish Hospital to St. Louis Children's, eliminating the need for ground transportation like their daughter required in the early 1990s. The Andersons were incredibly thankful for their time with Dr. Cole and to see how families continue to benefit from world-class care at St. Louis Children's.

Their connection with Dr. Cole also inspired the Andersons to make a legacy gift to St. Louis Children's Hospital. Their gift is considered unrestricted, and the Andersons know their gift will go to wherever it's needed most at the time. And while the gift is their way of honoring Dr. Cole and his work, the Andersons are also honoring St. Louis Children's Hospital. Making a gift through a will is a popular way for individuals like the Andersons to make a tremendous impact on the causes they care about most. For Bill and Mary Ann, they wanted to recognize the institution that saved their daughter's life. Their children have also agreed upon the importance of this legacy gift.

"We give where we can and when we can and it's very important," Bill emphasized. "We can give more in a planned gift than we can outright."