Nikki DeLoach is opening up in a deeply personal tribute to her son, Bennett, and the hospital that saved his life. In honor of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ 125th birthday, the Hallmark actress shared an emotional reflection on the life-saving care her son received there.
In a social media post, the “Curious Caterer” star recalled the moment her family walked through the hospital doors “scared, searching, hoping someone could save our son’s life.” What they found, she wrote, was a community of people whose dedication to saving the lives of children reshaped the way she wanted to spend the rest of her life. Eight years later, the hospital has become her family’s “second home,” and DeLoach has given back as a leader and an advocate for the institution that changed her family’s story for the better.
DeLoach Shares Her Family’s Touching Story in Honor of CHLA’s Birthday
“Happy 125th Birthday, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles,” DeLoach wrote in the caption of her April 1 Instagram post. “Eight years ago, I didn’t know this hospital existed. Today, I can’t imagine our lives without it.”
She continued, “We walked through the doors of CHLA for the first time… scared, searching, hoping someone could save our son’s life. What we found inside those walls wasn’t just medicine. It was people. Extraordinary, devoted people who had decided that saving children was their life’s work.”
“Eight years later, CHLA has become a second home. Not because we wanted it to be, but because the people there made it feel like one. It’s not just what they do, it’s how they do it. They saved my child’s life and inspired me to change the way I spent the minutes and moments of mine,” the actress wrote.
DeLoach went on to explain how she was inspired by the world-class care her son received there, so much so that she joined the Board of Trustees because she wanted “to give back to a place that had given us everything.” This journey eventually led her to serving as Board President for three years, which she said was “one of the greatest honors of my life.”
Now, DeLoach is a co-chair of “the largest fundraising initiative to date,” in order to ensure that CHLA carries on for another 125 years.
“Here’s to 125 years of one doctor on horseback becoming one of the greatest children’s hospitals on earth. And may every child who needs this place, find it for another 125 years and beyond,” DeLoach concluded.
Fellow stars showed their support for the actress, including former Hallmark actress Danica McKellar, who liked the post, and Hallmark leading man Andrew Walker, who not only liked the post, but also commented, “HBD CHLA ❤️”
DeLoach Reflects on Her Son’s ‘Life and Death Crisis’
Getty“He had four congenital heart defects and without immediate intervention, he was not going to survive,” DeLoach told Us Weekly in an exclusive interview at the Children’s Heart Foundation’s Congenital Heart Walk on May 18, 2025. “At five days old, Dr. Vaughn Starnes at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles — one of the world’s top pediatric heart surgeons — saved his life.”
After he had open heart surgery at only five days old, DeLoach’s son, Bennett, had to have additional heart procedures at 12 months old and 18 months old.
“I grew up in this industry and had my first job at, like, eight years old,” DeLoach told the outlet. “And when you grow up in this industry, we think, ‘This is it.’ It’s our everything, until you face a life and death crisis with your child. Then you realize that there is nothing that matters more than our health and our ability to not just be alive, but to thrive in our lives.”
