When a child’s heart or lungs are too weak to sustain life, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, can take over. Rather than a last resort, it is often a bridge, giving patients time to recover, undergo surgery or receive a transplant.
ECMO specialists are the highly trained nurses and respiratory therapists who manage this life-saving technology around the clock. For charge nurse and ECMO specialist Lindsey Hales, ECMO isn’t just part of her professional life. It’s part of her family’s story.
A Parent’s Journey
Lindsey’s daughter, Brooklyn, was diagnosed in utero with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, a serious condition that allowed organs to move into her chest cavity, putting pressure on her heart and lungs. At just a week old, Brooklyn’s condition worsened. Lindsey and her husband were told their baby had only hours to live without ECMO.
“I remember being there with the ECMO specialist and perfusionist and just being amazed that it was someone’s job to manage a pump that was saving my daughter’s life.” she recalled.
Brooklyn endured a long and complicated ECMO course, including multiple complications, before finally stabilizing. After almost two months in the NICU, Lindsey held her for the first time.
“I can still feel the weight of her in that blanket,” she said. “It was surreal to hold her and think how far we’d come.”
After another two months, Brooklyn was released with a feeding tube and ongoing treatments and therapies at home. Today, she is thriving. Once told she would never be a runner, Brooklyn has proven everyone wrong. Now a high school freshman, she is running cross country for the third year in a row, tumbling, and has interests in fashion, art and early 2000s rom coms. “We couldn’t be prouder of the young woman she is becoming,” Lindsey said.
Choosing a New Path
Brooklyn’s battle changed the course of Lindsey’s life. She joined the Texas Children’s Patient and Family Services team after a year at home with Brooklyn, but the experience at her daughter’s bedside had planted a seed: her calling was in nursing. “A counselor told me it was too hard, and I had too much on my plate. The next day, I signed up for two prerequisite classes. I was determined to prove her wrong.”
It’s clear where Brooklyn gets her grit. With two children at home, Lindsey graduated from nursing school and returned to Texas Children’s as a CICU nurse. In 2021, she completed the demanding training to bring her journey full circle and become an ECMO specialist.
“Being an ECMO specialist brings me joy,” she said. “I feel like I can relate to families at a deeper level because I’ve been there, and I know exactly what they’re going through.”
Inside the ECMO Team
ECMO specialists are part of a highly skilled group. Their work requires technical expertise and emotional strength, as outcomes are never guaranteed. Specialists remain at a patient’s bedside 24/7, ready to troubleshoot complications in seconds.
“We take extreme care in both our work and our patients, and we lead with heart in all we do,” Lindsey said.
The team also finds ways to support one another through camaraderie and humor. Friendly rivalries have grown around circuit change times, with a current record of just 16 seconds. Memes and lighthearted competition help balance the intensity of high-stakes care.
“The ECMO team is like this quirky little family,” Lindsey said. “There are inside jokes and nicknames. We use humor to help with the immense stress of our jobs.”
She added, “I never feel alone on this team. I know I can always count on my co-workers who act more like teammates in a championship game. We trust each other to be there for anything.”
Celebrating the Specialists
ECMO specialists play a critical role in Texas Children’s success and reputation. Outcomes in cardiology and pulmonology would not be as strong without the program’s consistent excellence, and the hospital has been recognized internationally as a Platinum Center of Excellence — one of only about 40 worldwide.
To shine a spotlight on these important team members, Texas Children’s began an ECMO Specialist Appreciation Week several years ago. The celebration started internally with meals, recognition, and talks by leaders and former patients. In recent years, it has also included collaborative panels and workshops with other hospitals, creating opportunities to share knowledge and strengthen the field. This year’s celebration will take place September 20-26.
For Lindsey, the recognition holds special meaning. “As a parent, I once stood helpless at my child’s bedside, watching ECMO specialists save her life,” she said. “Now, as one of them, I get to bring that same expertise and compassion to other families.”
