Meet Our 2026 Champion: Logan Farcher
It was a miracle that suddenly felt like a nightmare. After a full-term pregnancy, Katelyn and Dietz Farcher, of Saugerties, were so happy to finally welcome their daughter Logan to the world. But when her parents and care team saw this beautiful girl for the very first time, they noticed she was not breathing. Doctors immediately rushed Logan from a community hospital to Albany Medical Center, which is home to the region’s only Level 4 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Time was of the essence.
Logan was diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which causes severe brain injury, cerebral palsy, visual impairment, and developmental delays.
Katelyn and Dietz were terrified. But they trusted the NICU specialists to give their baby the care she desperately needed. Logan would receive a feeding tube and would have to be taught how to breathe on her own.
After seven long weeks, Logan had the strength to go home safely.
The Farchers say their child’s life was saved at Albany Med. Albany Med houses the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital, the only children’s hospital in northeastern New York, which includes more than 40 pediatric specialties. It is where Logan continues to receive follow-up care today.
Now three years old, Logan returns for visits with pediatric neurologists, developmental/behavioral health specialists, the spasticity clinic, and the multidisciplinary aerodigestive clinic organized by ENT, pulmonology, and gastroenterology specialists. She also works hard each week in physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
Every member of this team, the Farchers say, has held a central role in allowing Logan to thrive, surrounded by love!
