Derick Hall’s One Percent Foundation gives back to those who saved his life 23 years ago in the NICU at Memorial hospital

September is neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, awareness month. If you are from the Mississippi Gulf coast, and follow along with sports in the area, you are probably familiar with the name Derick Hall. What many might not know is Hall was born nearly 17 weeks premature and was given just a 1% chance of surviving his first night at Memorial hospital.

Now thriving in the NFL, Hall is doing his part in giving back to the hospital that saved his life 23 years ago.

“You have to see it to believe it,” Hall’s mother said. “It’s different, but it is different in the best ways possible.”

Derick Hall was born in Memorial Hospital at just 23 1/2 weeks, weight 2 lbs. 9 oz. The doctors at the time told Hall’s mother, Stacy Gooden-Crandle, that there was a 99% chance he would not make it though his first night. The life that his family now lives is one defined by the 1% chance he was given to survive on the day that he was born. Gooden-Crandle remembers what it was like throughout her time at Memorial hospital – and will be the first one to tell you that it took a village of doctors and nurses to help raise her children.

“This hospital is life for me,” she said. “They took care of my babies 28 years ago for my daughter and 23 years ago for my son. Memorial hospital to me means life for my family and the memories where I was able to see my kids grow up and see them be productive members of society. So, Memorial hospital is amazing, the staff here is amazing, and I cannot thank them for all that they have done for my family.”

With the platform the Hall family now has, they have started a foundation in Derick’s name. The Derick Hall One Percent Foundation, which helps support premature babies and their families, fights food insecurities, and provides fitness opportunities in underserved communities. While at the hospital, Gooden-Crandle delivered lunch and gift cards to the staff, and even hand delivered items to families currently in the NICU and offered words of encouragement as they travel the same path she did years ago.

“You don’t know what it feels like when you are a parent in the NICU when moments are uncertain for your baby,” she said. “Being able to be here and feel those feelings again…to be able to tell families that it is going to be okay, you are in the best place possible, it is a surreal feeling.”

Derick Hall was unable to attend the event in-person now that the NFL season has started. Despite preparing for week three of the young season, Hall took time out of his day to join in on the fun by Face Timing his mother and letting the entire staff know just how much they mean to him and his family.

“He really, really loves Memorial,” Hall’s mother said. “He loves the staff here for what they did for him, but also what they did for my daughter. This was just as important to him as it was to me. To be able to come here and say thank you while we are in the middle of NICU awareness month and bring life to the tinniest of patience, and to the staff that gives so selflessly to the patients and the babies.”

Hall’s mother knows first-hand the struggle that can come from having a baby premature. She also knows the blessing that can come from it as well. The One Percent Foundation is always working, and Hall’s mother says her next steps are to help provide families who have children in the NICU with car seats.