To honor their son Ansel’s time in a Denver neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the Brink family — Josh, Brittany, and their young sons Callan and Ansel — will trek 96 miles along Scotland’s West Highland Way. Beginning July 23, “Ansel’s Highland Hope Walk” will raise funds through pledges made online for Love for Lily, a Boulder nonprofit that supports NICU families.
For the Brinks, this is more than a hike. It’s a way to give back and stand in solidarity with families still facing the uncertainty of intensive care.
A little over a year ago, the Brink’s NICU experience began without warning. “Brittany’s pregnancy was normal… nothing to tip us off,” Josh recalled.
But hours after Ansel’s birth, he was moved to a hospital in Greeley, then to a Level I NICU in Denver. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and a collapsed lung and spent nearly a month in intensive care before being discharged home with oxygen and a heart monitor.
Within a week of coming home, Ansel was readmitted to the NICU. What followed was a grueling stretch — 50 days spent cycling between five hospitals and three different NICU’s. Josh and Brittany shuttled between the hospital, their home, and The Ronald McDonald House, caught in a rhythm of progress and sudden setbacks.
Throughout those early weeks, they leaned on each other as they balanced hospital visits with caring for their older son, Callan, who is a toddler. New to Colorado and without an extended network nearby, they quickly realized the power of community support.
Neighbors mowed their lawn, friends brought food, and colleagues offered overnight care for Callan.
“We didn’t know anyone very well, but the support we received created our community here,” Josh said. “It showed me how deeply people can care, even when you’re strangers.”
One important lesson they learned was that families going through trauma often don’t know what kind of help to ask for.
“The biggest difference came from people who just acted… bringing dinner, paying for house cleaning, offering to babysit. They didn’t wait for us to ask,” Josh said.
That spirit of action has stayed with the Brinks. Seasoned hikers, Brittany and Josh have backpacked through Chile, the Alps, and even Kilimanjaro. This spring, as they returned to the trail — now with both boys — they often reflected on how far they, and Ansel, had come.
On a local hike near Fort Collins, the idea of turning their upcoming family hike in Scotland into a fundraiser surfaced. By that evening, they had built a website and chosen Love for Lily as their cause.
The nonprofit came into their lives during their NICU days through small but meaningful gestures, group support meetings, a Mother’s Day gift, and a Father’s Day note. Those tokens reminded them they weren’t alone.
“You walk NICU halls with your head down, not wanting to see other babies doing better or worse. But Love for Lily made us feel seen without explanation.”
That’s the power of peer connection, said Sahra Cahoon, executive director of Love for Lily. “When someone says, ‘How are you today?’ not how your baby is, but how you are, it can change everything. The empathy that comes from someone who’s lived it, you can’t replicate that.”
Cahoon said the Brinks’ fundraiser will support Love for Lily’s “Tiny Victories” program, which provides thoughtful care packages and celebrations for NICU families during milestones and holidays, moments that can otherwise feel invisible in the hospital environment.
“So often families feel like they don’t get to celebrate,” she said. “We want to offer a little bit of celebration and a gift to say, ‘You are a mama and you are a daddy. This is important.’”
It’s also a way to extend the mission behind the organization’s name, to ensure no family walks the NICU journey alone.
“The Brinks took that idea literally,” Cahoon said. “One foot in front of the other, doing the next right thing. With every step, they’re creating hope, not just for themselves, but for families they may never meet.”
Ansel’s Highland Hope Walk highlights how life after the NICU carries on, even as recovery continues.
“We want people to understand that it’s not just about NICU babies, but NICU families,” Josh said. “The support you offer reaches far beyond the baby in the hospital bed. This experience affects siblings, too. Callan has been the most amazing older brother, and he may not fully understand it all, but he carries his own version of this story.”
“[Ansel] still has medical needs. The trauma lingers. Our NICU story isn’t over, and that’s true for a lot of families. But now we can take him backpacking through the Highlands,” Josh added. “Life may stay messy, but it can still be meaningful.”
The fundraiser has raised over $3,000, with all proceeds supporting Love for Lily’s mental health groups, transportation aid, meals, and sibling care. The Brinks’ fundraising goal is $10,000. Donations can be made at www.coloradogives.org/story/Anselswalk or Love for Lily’s site. The family will share updates on Instagram @Go.By.Josh
