Driven by His Daughter’s Memory, Deval Dickens Helps NICU Deliver Lifesaving Care

Published September 17, 2026

MADERA, Calif. – Before Deval Dickens thinks about inventory, supply requests or the unit he serves at Valley Children’s Hospital, he thinks about his daughter. Her memory has guided nearly two decades of service and remains the reason he comes to work each day.

As a distribution lead in the Materials Distribution Center, Dickens works behind the scenes delivering the products and equipment that nurses and physicians rely on. For the past 10 years, his primary responsibility has been supporting the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where every supply plays a role in a child’s care.

Each morning, Dickens makes his way through the NICU, scanning products to help him track what needs replenishing and dropping off frequently used inventory he knows the team needs. After his morning visit, he spends a large chunk of the day in the warehouse, where he pulls inventory to be delivered later in the day to prepare for the next shift.

“It’s very important that we get our supplies in. Without us, the hospital wouldn’t be able to operate,” he said.

When urgent requests come in, speed matters.

“Sometimes you got to run, you know, make sure to get if they get that call, you gotta run and make sure they get it right away,” he said.

While Dickens has delivered supplies across the hospital during his career, the NICU is the department closest to his heart – and his connection to the unit began long before he worked there.

In 2006, his daughter Aissa was born with a condition that required specialized treatment shortly after birth, and she was flown to the NICU at Valley Children’s. As he spent more time with his daughter at the hospital, he struggled to balance work and family responsibilities.

“At the time, I had another job, and I lost my job because I kept taking time off to come visit my daughter,” Dickens said.

In an effort to be near his daughter, Dickens asked a nurse if the organization was hiring – and the nurse told him they were. He applied for a position and was hired on the spot, giving him the opportunity to visit his daughters on breaks and during lunch.

Aissa needed a transplant and received it and, for a time, things seemed to be improving.

Then came a day Dickens still remembers in vivid detail.

“The very last time when she was home, I kissed her goodbye and said, ‘Aissa, I’ll see you later. When I get home from work, we’re going to go to the park and play.’”

Later that day, his then-wife called with alarming news.

“She said Aissa was bleeding from her nose. We rushed her to the hospital, and once we got her there, I went home to rest thinking that she was going to be okay. And then I got the phone call that she was gone.”

After suffering an unimaginable loss, Dickens decided to continue his work at Valley Children’s and found a new purpose in his day-to-day tasks.

“When my daughter first came here to the hospital, she was stationed in the NICU,” Dickens said. “So it means a lot to me to be in NICU and give back to the kids and make sure the babies have what they need to get home and get well soon.”

Nearly 20 years after first arriving at Valley Children’s as a father seeking care for his daughter, Dickens continues to serve the hospital community she helped introduce him to.

“Without my daughter, I wouldn’t be here,” Dickens said. “Valley Children’s was her home, and I’m gonna continue to be here and make sure the team has what they need so the patients can get well.”

Every trip to the NICU is a reminder of why Dickens is there. Through the supplies he delivers and the caregivers he supports, he continues the mission that has guided him since losing his daughter: helping children get home to their parents.