McCann family shows gratitude for Nashville NICU

On Christmas morning in 2017, James and Jessica McCann were in a neonatal intensive care unit waiting to see their newborn twins. Five years later, the McCanns are back at that same hospital spreading holiday joy to families who are now in the same situation.

On Thursday, McCann gave back to nurses and families at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital NICU at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., supplying them with gift cards from Dick’s Sporting Goods, Tacos 4 Life and MAPCO (a gas station and convenience store chain) and cold brew coffee from Bizzy Coffee. These gift packages included a note with a family picture of the McCanns, a writeup about their NICU journey and words of encouragement about brighter days ahead.

This NICU is especially close to James McCann’s heart, as it was where his twin boys, Christian and Kane, spent the first seven weeks of their life in late 2017 and early 2018 after they were born 10 weeks premature. It was a harrowing experience for the McCanns -- “one of the hardest times of our life” -- to spend the holidays wondering when their babies would be healthy enough to come home. The generosity they received inspired them to create a holiday tradition of donating time and money to NICUs.

“Unless you've been personally affected by [a NICU], you don't really think much about it,” McCann, recently traded from the Mets to the Orioles, said in a phone call with MLB.com. “We know what the nurses go through. We know what the patients and the families of the patients go through. Our goal is just to be available and help however we can. ... [It’s] really neat to see just how grateful they are.”

Since their sons came home safe and sound, the McCanns have donated both money and time to NICUs around the holidays and every Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Their boys are now old enough to know that they spent their first few weeks in the hospital and have seen pictures of their time in the NICU, including a memorable visit from Santa Claus.

“It was a special moment for us because it's the first time since they were born where they were actually next to each other,” McCann said. “Up until that point, they had been in separate isolettes, so when Santa got to visit, they actually were put together again.”

In 2022, McCann’s charitable efforts with NICUs led to a nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award. In future seasons, he’s looking forward to his kids visiting families in NICUs themselves. McCann also aims to work with NICU kangaroo care programs, which facilitate skin-to-skin contact for premature babies (“There's so much scientific research that shows how good it is,” he said).

With Thursday’s donations, all he and Jessica wanted was to help families who, like they once were, are in a NICU over Christmas.

“Using my platform as a Major League Baseball player, that’s what we feel God intended for us to do,” McCann said. “Hopefully our story can help strengthen people in times of need.”