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The hospital dressed up the children from the intensive care unit in honor of the game Cats-Griz

Posted on by L. Dreeye
The hospital dressed up the children from the intensive care unit in honor of the game Cats-Griz

MISSOULA — The Wilderness Rumble is one of the state’s most important traditions.

Meanwhile, Missoula Community Medical Center’s neonatal intensive care unit has another unit that serves its youngest and smallest patients.

Since Brawl in the Wild is centered around football, nurses team up with volunteers to make hats for the Cats or Grizzies, as well as a football jumpsuit so the babies in the NICU can celebrate their first weekend in Brawl in the Wild.

Leah Erickson, who has worked as a NICU nurse for just over a year and is a graduate of the University of Montana, is the mastermind behind creating these positive memories during a stressful time for these babies’ families.

“I worked as a nurse for 16 months, and as soon as I showed some of my co-workers that my mom, a former NICU parent, knitted hats for premature babies, they were all in them,” Erickson said.

ICU soccer balls

MTN News

Brawl in the Wild is one of the state’s largest traditions. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Missoula Community Medical Center has another unit that serves the youngest and smallest patients.

Because babies sometimes stay in the hospital for a long time and babies can’t go home and spend time with their families during the holidays, NICU nurses dress babies in different outfits for their parents.

“At Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, we take pictures. And because the Cat Grizz is a Montana tradition. This is a way to glorify our great state. So the idea is always for us to put on some football gear and then take a photo,” Erickson said.

As a Montana graduate, Erickson says celebrating small milestones and creating positive memories is a big part of the NICU.

ICU soccer balls

MTN News

Nurses work with volunteers to make hats for the Cats or Grizzies, and a soccer suit so babies in the NICU can celebrate their first Wilderness weekend.

“It’s a lot of fun because we can create positive memories for parents, even with little milestones or exciting events like Brawl the Wild, we’re more than happy to do that,” Erickson said.

Parents and children will be able to save their caps and overalls for future Griz or Cats games and other football events that may arise throughout the year.

Saturday’s game will be televised by Scripps Sports and broadcast on CBS affiliates throughout Montana. KRTV in Great FallsKXLH in Helena, KBZK in Bozeman, KPAX in Missoula and the Flathead Valley, KTVQ in Billings and KXLF in Butte.

Broadcast starts at 11:00 with Saturday’s pre-game Showdown and kick-off is scheduled for noon. The post-match show will follow immediately after the game.

Several people have told us that the Dish Network programming guide doesn’t list this game on KRTV, but we assure you, the game will be televised on KRTV on Dish Network.. For some reason, the Dish Programming Guide has not been updated with current information about our programs.