Former Sabres winger shares gratitude for NICU at Sisters Hospital

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR) - Former Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch wrote a thank you letter to the NICU staff at Sisters of Charity Hospital in Buffalo in The Players Tribune on Friday. Tuch calls the unit "superheroes" in saving his and wife Kylie's newborn son Teller.

"Teller was born at Sisters Hospital in Buffalo on April 28, 2025, three weeks early. He was a big boy, almost fully grown. Seven pounds of tank. Everything seemed like it was going to be fine, but when he came out, he wouldn’t take his first full breath. The doctors took him from us right away, and it’s just … it was our worst nightmare. We had this beautiful baby boy and we wanted to hug him and hold him and protect him, and we couldn’t," wrote Tuch.."We were told his lungs were underdeveloped, and one was punctured."

Tuch's letter thanked all of the staff, led by Dr. Lauren Davidson.

"This was such a special letter to us, special piece," said Davidson in an interview with WBEN. "It filled my heart with just so much love, knowing what a special part of their journey we are. What a special gift we were able to give them by having teller get better and be able to go home and be so big and healthy. I mean, it's definitely what it's all about."

Davidson says after Teller was born, he was showing signs that he was having trouble breathing.

"He was taken from them almost immediately to to be taken care of, to be resuscitated by the team, and he obviously responded very well to all the things that we had to to do for him, and and that's a scary time for parents. They're without their baby that they just spent nine months waiting for, and and it's scary. it's your whole world in our hands," she said

Teller was able to make a full recovery, and was able to go home after a couple weeks in the NICU.

"At the same time, Kylie, Alex's wife had to recover from her own C-section and had a major surgery that she had to recover for while worrying about her baby in the NICU, so it's not an easy experience by any means, and so it's tough times. But luckily, they all all got better and and are are doing well today," Davidson added.

Tuch was traded to Washington during this past offseason.