Benefis NICU Baby Returns as Montana Tech Nursing Student

Caring for the smallest Benefis patients alongside the nurses who once cared for her has Montana Tech nursing student Kendra Fuller thinking about her life's perilous beginning 22 years ago.

"It feels like a full-circle moment," she said on her first day on the job in the Benefis Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. "I feel really connected here, and it's good to be around babies and think about how I was once just like them."

Kendra and her twin brother, Trevor, were born at 28 weeks. She came into the world at 2 pounds, 1 ounce and spent 89 days in the NICU.

Her parents described to her the terror of those days, watching over their fragile babies and then the grief as Trevor passed away at five weeks.

"My parents always talked about how much the nurses meant to them when they were in the NICU," she said. "They are still in touch to this day, and I thought it was cool how much the nurses impacted them."

There were days as Gina Fuller watched her daughter, Kendra, grow in the NICU that she wasn't sure she would ever bring her home or that life would ever be normal again.

"If I had met someone like Kendra back then, it would have been really good for me," Gina said.

"She was a sick little baby, and she struggled for a long time," Gina said. "We were thrilled when she got to come home after 89 days in the NICU."

Gina could only visit the NICU for 10 minutes every four hours at first. Otherwise, the sound of her voice would make Kendra's oxygen and heart rate drop dangerously.

Kendra's twin brother, Trevor, was bigger and healthier than Kendra. However, he crashed and couldn't be revived before his brain died. The care team did everything possible to support the Fullers through withdrawing life support and accommodating their wishes, Gina said. They found a way to accommodate others in the family to meet Trevor and say goodbye. Two NICU nurses came to his funeral in Helena, a gesture Gina still remembers with gratitude.

Kendra was born before the South Tower opened with its private NICU suites that give families space and babies extra quiet. Gina was part of the advisory council that helped with plans for the space.

The old ward-style did promote camaraderie among the NICU parents, though, Gina said.

Kendra's father, Jim Fuller, remembers calling his fellow NICU parents "Gen Pop" and the way they bonded through the shared experience.

When Kendra's second brother, Ryan, arrived at full term, it almost startled Jim to not have the 1:1 NICU-level attention that was their experience with the first, premature birth.

"They spoil you with their care in the NICU," he said. "We always talked about the NICU with Kendra. When you're there, the nurses are what make it awesome. Now Kendra will be able to support other people there."

Jim is proud to see Kendra achieving her dreams and remembers just holding onto hope she would survive those first months.

"You just don't know what is going to happen in the NICU. We were all scared to death," he said. "To see her thrive now is a cool thing."

Gina also encouraged parents to center their roles amid the doctor visits, specialist consultations, therapy sessions, and other things that can make a child feel like they belong to the medical team, not to their family.

"They are your child, and always remember that," she said. "I had to let Kendra be who she was going to be instead of stressing about the milestones they focused on."

Jim advised NICU parents to ask questions. He remembers longtime and now retired nurse Marlene Lund telling him not to stroke their feet as it was "freaking them out," even as he meant it as a gesture of comfort. He had to learn how to touch his fragile children.

"I didn't know what was going on," he said. "The experience was hard to have. The staff are very willing to help. If you ask questions, they know how to help you feel more at ease."

The care team at Benefis worried Kendra would have developmental delays and need to remain on oxygen because of her early beginning.

“I’ve been very lucky not to have complications from being premature," she said.

She's able to be a living example for NICU parents of what may be ahead for their baby, too.

Kendra will graduate in December and hopes to launch her career in Montana, ideally in a NICU.