MONROE, La. – When Gunnar Ludlam was born 13 months ago at Woman’s Hospital, both child and mother needed extra care. Thursday, Mickey and Sara Ludlam thanked the hospital in the most south Louisiana way possible.
A crawfish boil.
The Prairieville couple treated employees to lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in front of the hospital where Gunnar spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit so his lungs could develop and where Sara had to return when a life-threatening medical condition developed. Both are fine, now.
“Not one second … did we think the hospital couldn’t handle it,” Sara Ludlam said. “They were amazing. The entire staff took care of me. They took care of (Mickey). He was a worried dad.”
The Ludlams said they chose the crawfish boil instead of a monetary donation so the staff could benefit directly.
“This, they get to sit down and they get to enjoy it and they get to relax and they get to see a thank you,” Sara Ludlam said. “This is for them, and I wanted it to be for them. … They’re just able to relax and have fun and just take their mind off of the crazy that’s going on and just chill for a little while.”
Sara Ludlam said Hole ‘n Da Wall Seafood, which prepared the crawfish, donated its time, Rouses Market provided drinks and Sysco restaurant supply company and Ascension Paper Products donated supplies.
All hospital employees who wanted to were able to have crawfish, said Keila Stovall, president of the Foundation for Woman’s. She guessed that to be about 700 of them.
“It was just an act of pure generosity,” Stovall said, who noted that the Ludlams also treated employees to boxed lunches last year when COVID restrictions prevented them from doing so in person.
“We’re happy to touch lives that have touched so many, including ours,” Sara Ludlam said. “Mother’s Day is coming up, too. What a great way to say thank you to a great hospital.”
