Gift of Life Housing at Benefis is Refuge for NICU Families, Cancer Patients

Just before Christmas 2022, Lane Irwin came into the world ahead of schedule and before his lungs were ready.

Newborn Lane desperately needed expert help, so Benefis Mercy Flight deployed a medical jet to bring him from Helena to the Benefis Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Great Falls.

Lane’s dad, Isaac, flew with him in the air ambulance. When his mom, Brooke, recovered from Lane's birth enough to travel, her car wouldn’t start in the hospital parking lot in the brutal cold.

Lane’s grandmother, Kristi, drove through the worst snow conditions she can recall to get Brooke to her new baby in Great Falls. Amid the cold, stress, and uncertainty of having a baby in the NICU, Isaac and Brooke found refuge in Gift of Life Housing.

Because of donor generosity, parents caring for a NICU baby and cancer patients undergoing treatment can stay at Gift of Life for no cost. More than 3,200 patients have found comfort and peace through the program since its founding in 1992.

“Gift of Life was such a godsend,” Kristi said. “I’m so grateful they were able to stay.”

The homey feel of Gift of Life was comforting, Isaac said. It was quiet, close to the hospital, and had a kitchen for warming up food. Brooke wasn’t working and Isaac had just started a new job; saving two weeks of hotel costs made a huge difference.

For the comfort of patients, Benefis Foundation is asking donors to sponsor refurbishing the much-loved and well-used Gift of Life houses, located on Benefis’ East and West campuses.

The project will be 100% donor dependent, and we hope donors like you and the former guests committed to paying it forward will see the value of the project. For more than 30 years, donors have kept the doors open and the hearth warm.

That cozy atmosphere made a vital difference for Lane’s family during their two-week stay at Gift of
Life. One memory stands out of their unexpected Christmas: Dinner together at Gift of Life, giving
thanks for a baby in a manger and praying for another in an isolette a block away.

The holiday also meant Lane’s first stocking, a gift from NICU volunteers, and his first picture with
Santa. Too fragile to be held, Lane had to stay in his isolette as Santa stood nearby.

Brooke said the NICU nurses helped her figure out how to be Lane’s mom.

Before he could go home, Lane had to prove he wasn’t going to stop breathing on the way and that his blood would stay oxygenated while he sat in a car seat. Isaac cringed thinking of the stress of the will-he-or-won’t-he drama that came with every breathing test.

Today, those memories are being supplanted by the joy of raising this bright-eyed boy just beginning to babble. Christmas this year will be filled with milestones once more but likely easier for everyone!

Donors are the reason Gift of Life is able to offer free lodging. With your support, we will refurbish the much-loved houses on our East and West campuses for the next patients who need a place to call home during cancer treatments and NICU stays. Donate online.