A Laramie County cattle rancher has pledged $450,000 to the Cheyenne Regional Foundation to improve the neonatal and pediatric units at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.

"The donor, who asked to remain anonymous, made the donation in honor of his late wife who was very fond of children," said Vicky Fry, the Foundation's Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving. "He's paid $100,000 of it to date and the remainder will be paid early in 2016."

Fry says the generous contribution will allow the hospital to care for a lot more premature babies.

"$250,000 of the gift is going to go towards ventilators which will be used in the neonatal intensive care unit to provide life saving support for infants with respiratory failure," said Fry. "It also will go towards Bubbble CPAP machines in various sizes for infants who need breathing assistance."

The remainder of the pledge will be deposited in an endowed fund that provides medical care and equipment for terminally ill, critically ill and physically disabled infants and children.

"It's very hard on families when they have to live away from home for weeks and months at a time to be with a critically ill child being cared for out of state," said Fry. "This donation will allow more babies and children from our community to be cared for here in Cheyenne, where their families can receive the support and assistance they need."

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