PENSACOLA, Fla. — Pain hit Nick Newkirk’s wife, Rachel, like lightning as she reached for hair color at her salon. In an instant, she was on the floor, in intense pain.
After being rushed to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Nick learned that Rachel and their unborn daughter had a 50% chance of survival.
The sudden medical emergency—not related to Rachel’s pregnancy—resulted in the premature birth of their daughter, Addy Beth. At just 26 weeks and 4 days she fit in the palm of a hand.
Born technically stillborn with no heartbeat, it took two rounds of CPR to bring her back to life.
Today, 14 years later, Rachel is still doing what she loves and working in a salon. Addy Beth is a spirited freshman pursuing photography, cheering and playing tennis.
With her father at her side, Addy Beth recently was given a tour of Sacred Heart’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and a hands-on demonstration taking care of a “baby doll” preemie—a chance to see firsthand the care she received and reconnect with staff who kept her alive.
“Without the people who were there in the NICU to take care of Addy Beth, there's no chance she would have survived," Nick explains. "The right people and technology were in the right place at the right time. Otherwise, I would have lost them both.”
Paying it forward
During their 74-day NICU journey, the Newkirks found strength not only in medical care but in the connections formed with other families facing similar crises.
This experience inspired them to help create “Preemies of Pensacola,” a private social media support group that continues to offer hope and guidance to families with babies in what is now the Ascension Sacred Heart Studer Family Children’s Hospital’s NICU unit.
The couple eventually helped lead coordination of the hospital's annual NICU reunion, growing it from a simple sheet cake gathering to a massive event serving 700 attendees. They, along with a core group of nurses and parents, created a space where NICU graduates could reconnect with the medical staff who saved their lives.
Their ongoing commitment continues through supporting initiatives like Sacred Heart's Radiothon, which helps fund the advanced technology and specialized equipment that give other families a second chance at life.
The experience didn't just save lives—it changed them.
The long nights at the hospital motivated Nick to return to school while working full-time in the dental field. He earned an electrical engineering degree from the University of West Florida that eventually led him to his current role as a power delivery distribution engineer at FPL—a company, he said, that shares his values of giving back to the community.
"That experience in the NICU showed me what's possible when the right people, technology and dedication come together," Nick said. "It inspired me to pursue a career where I could be part of something bigger."
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