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Meet Miguel Contreras, A Valley Hero
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At 17 years old, Miguel Contreras was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. With the help of the oncology team at Valley Children's Hospital, Miguel is cancer-free. Click
the video to see Miguel's journey to become a thriving cancer survivor.
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25 Years Later: A NICU Reunion 
When Michelle and Odes Thompson realized they were expecting twins, they never imagined their first babies would need specialized medical care. Michelle remembers the excitement and nerves she felt when she and her husband found out their first baby was actually two!
After a few false alarms, Michelle was rushed to Saint Agnes with labor pains that she knew were far too early. The doctors did all they could to keep the twins from arriving early, but after a day and a half in the hospital, Odes and Michelle welcomed their new son and daughter.
Kory was first, weighing 2 pounds, 9 ounces. Shortly after, her brother, Kasey, made his arrival at 2 pounds, 11 ounces.
"I'll never forget how small they looked. My husband and I couldn't believe it," recalls Michelle.
The babies were rushed to Valley Children's Hospital, then on Millbrook and Shields in Fresno, and remained there for one week. They needed the specialized care the NICU at Valley Children's was trained to provide. After the longest week of Michelle's and Odes' lives, the twins were transferred back to Saint Agnes where they stayed for another six weeks.
"Dr. Helm and Dr. Vish treated Kory and Kasey like they were their kids. The twins had a few tough days when we were concerned their lungs were not maturing on schedule, but Dr. Vish kept us positive and made the long days at the hospital bearable. The last few days we were watching the scale. We couldn't bring them home until they got up to 4 pounds," said Michelle.
Fast forward to almost 25 years later and the twins, Michelle, and Dr. Vish were again all together at Valley Children's, this time so that Kasey and Kory could meet the doctor that made such a difference in their young lives. Kasey lives in Kerman and works for the family's pistachio orchards nearby. Kory lives with her husband, Eric, in Fresno and also works for the family's farming operation.
"It's like a small family reunion," exclaimed Dr. Vish while looking at photos of the twins from their days as patients.
The group made their way to the NICU so the Thompsons could take a tour of the department recently recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a "Best Children's Hospital Neonatology Department." The group walked through the 88-bed Level IV NICU together. It was an emotional tour for Michelle who remembered her babies in similar isolettes many years before. Both Kory and Kasey were quiet, surprised at how small some of the patients were and realizing that they were once just like many of them.
On the way out of the hospital, Kory stopped Dr. Vish and announced that she was expecting her first child in December. After the tour, she was so thankful there was a place like Valley Children's nearby if her baby ever needed it. For more incredible NICU stories,
visit us online.
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Thank you to everyone who helped to make Harvest Ball 2016 a success. From sponsors, to auction item donors, to other attendees, to committee members, the 20th anniversary event was an evening to remember. Your generosity made a huge difference, and we are happy to share that together we raised $775,000 to support the kids we serve. We look forward to seeing you again next year.
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Ruiz Foods Visit
A special thank you to
Ruiz Food Products, Inc.
, Kim and Tom Beck, the Ruiz family, and all the Ruiz Foods employees who came to Valley Children's on September 24 to spend time at the Hospital. The group painted t-shirts, did face painting, and played games with our patients.
The group also brought a check for $150,000 which completed the $1 million dollar commitment Ruiz Foods made to the Hospital in 2008. We are so grateful for the company's continued support of Valley Children's!
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99 Pipeline Supports Valley Children's
99 Pipeline, Inc. is the epitome of a local business giving back to their community. Owners David and Debbie Wendt incorporated their business in 2007 and have been completing jobs throughout the Valley ever since. As general engineering contractors, much of their work is contracted with local cities and public work projects. They replace, repair, connect and build new sewer storm drains, water lines, and various other pipeline projects.
David was born in Tulare, and Debbie moved to the Valley from San Jose in 1990. Having always had hearts for philanthropy, the Wendts not only wanted a successful business, but one that would be viable enough to reinvest and support their community. Already partnering with various charitable organizations, the Wendts wanted to also support local pediatric healthcare, and a relationship was born with Valley Children's.
Loyal donors to The Children's Fund, the Wendts love to see the work that Valley Children's is doing in the various communities of the Central Valley. With Valley Children's partnerships in Porterville, Visalia, Hanford and Dinuba, in addition to the Akers Specialty Care Center in Visalia and the satellite NICU in Hanford, 99 Pipeline and Valley Children's are serving many of the same communities. "We will continue partnering with Valley Children's Healthcare as long as we are in business," David and Debbie Wendt are proud to proclaim.
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New Guilds Manager
We are very pleased to announce the selection of Sandy Cetti as Manager of Guilds for Valley Children's Hospital. Sandy has significant experience working with non-profit organizations. She will represent the Guilds within the hospital and is responsible for overall management, planning and coordination of the Guilds. Sandy comes to us from Catholic Charities Diocese of Fresno where she was the Senior Accounting Specialist and Development Representative. Prior to that, Sandy worked at St. Anthony's School in multiple roles. Sandy is passionate about our mission and is a true champion for kids.
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CoBank Supports Valley Children's
Valley Children's Healthcare is thankful to have received a donation of $10,000 from CoBank on behalf of J. "Less" Guthrie, a member of the cooperative bank's board of directors.
CoBank's donation will be earmarked for The Children's Fund, which focuses on providing advanced technology needs, recruiting pediatric specialists, improving care and services for complex patient needs, and developing exceptional specialty programs.
"Few things in the world are more important than our children and each of them deserves the chance to have a joyous, long life. CoBank and I are happy to contribute to Valley Children's mission of guarding the health of our communities' youth," said Guthrie.
The contribution is part of CoBank's corporate citizenship program which, in 2015, provided more than $8.4 million in aid to charitable organizations throughout the country. As part of the program, CoBank allows its employees and board members to direct bank donations to their choice of non-profit organizations and programs, benefiting local communities where its employees and directors live and work.
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Derek Carr Touchdown Challenge
A big thank you to our current Derek Carr Touchdown Challenge members. We are so glad that they have joined with Valley Children's and Derek Carr to help the children we serve. Below are the names of our generous supporters:
All Crop Insurance Services
Rita Oliver Cochrane
Christopher and Kelly Conner
Jean Ferrari
FirstLink, Inc.
The Fresno Bee
Marty Gonzales
Roman Guadarrama
John and Lollie Horstmann
Robert, Kathy and Sam Huebert
Dick Johanson
John and Tracy Kashian
David and Lisa Krause
Lane Blue Enterprises
John Meidell
Norman S. Wright Duckworth Mechanical Equipment Company
Lara Ogle
Dave Olson
One Putt Broadcasting
Hon. And Mrs. James M. Petrucelli
Mr. and Mrs. Brian K. Richburg
Steve and Barbara Schaad
Security First Bank
Sequoia Brewing Company
Richard Shehadey
Ray and Mary Lou Steele
The Suntrapak Family
Walter R. Reinhardt Insurance Agency, Inc.
Eva Willis
Derek has thrown 12 touchdown passes so far this season. With our 29 members, that is nearly $32,000 already raised to support the patients at the Hospital!
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New Foundation and Guilds Website
We are excited to announce the brand new Valley Children's Foundation and Guilds website. The new website is optimized to help visitors find the information they need. Our events calendar is still under construction but will be updated soon.
Click on the picture below to check it out!
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