December 2, 2025 • 22 mins
NIKKI DeLOACH WITH ELLEN K AT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES ON GIVING TUESDAY
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Giving Tuesday would not be Giving Tuesday without our friend
Nikki Deloch. Nikki, thank you for taking over this hour
with us.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Thank you so much for letting me be here. It's
so good to see you guys always.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
You always bring the holiday cheer and the Chla cheer.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
And you're no.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Stranger to Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Let's tell everyone about Bennett. Yes,
go there, if you don't mind, that would be our
starting point. Yeah, of course.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
So spring of twenty seventeen, I am pregnant with my
second child.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
I'm so excited to go.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
In and do you know the four D echo cardiogram
that you do when you technically have a geriatric pregnancy,
which we have.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
To really work on the name.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Yeah, I don't like that.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
N Nope, Nope, me neither. But I was.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
I was considered a geriatric pregnancy. So I went in
to get my four D FETO echo cardiogram and learned
that he had multiple congenital heart defects and very very
very serious ones, and so we I was. I was
so fortunate because I there was a friend of mine
(01:13):
who had a friend. It's always a friend, yeah, a friend, yes,
and her daughter, her name the mom's name is Kelly's eife,
and Hi Kelly, I love you so much. And Kelly's
daughter Lily had had heart surgery at Children's Hospital. So
my friend put me in touch with Kelly immediately, and
Kelly put me in touch with the team at Children's
(01:34):
Hospital Los Angeles. And you know, because I had never
gone through something like this, I met with several doctors
and it was so hopeless. I mean I just left
one meeting after another with doctors not really knowing how
to deal with Bennett's heart because it was so complicated.
(01:56):
This was in utero, yes, they you know, I left
thinking wow. You know, I knew that it was a
very serious heart condition, but after meeting with these doctors,
I thought every time I.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Left, I was more and more hopeless.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Until I met with doctor von Starns at Children's Hospital
Los Angeles. And you know, I've heard this so much
from other mothers who have gone through what I have
and have have had doctor von starn save their child.
There is something you feel in his presence and I
(02:33):
don't know how to explain it. It is divine, But
that is a man that when I sat in front
of him and he said, I know who you've met with.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I know what they've told you.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
They've probably told you these stats, this percentage of him
surviving the surgery, this, this, And I'm nodding yes, yes,
And he looks at me and says, well, I'm going
to tell you that I know how to save your
son's life. And I like, even today, you know you're
right back in that room. And I just exploded with tears.
And it was the first moment that I had hope,
(03:09):
because as a parent, you feel so helpless. You're not
a surgeon, you're not you don't know how to save them.
But the one thing you can do is find the
best team, the best hospital, the best doctor. And at
least you can put your head on the pillow at
night and know that you have given your child the
(03:32):
best hope and not just surviving that surgery, but thriving
outside of it. And so I gave birth at five
days old, Bennett had his first open heart surgery. And
you know, Bennett is a first of his kind, Yes,
because he had four congenital heart defects, transposition of the
(03:56):
great arteries, he had a collapse day order, he had
a hole in his heart, and he only had one
coronary artery not two, and that coronary artery was in
the wrong place. And usually with a child like Bennett,
they would have to do that surgery in two, which
is so hard on the kid. Yes, the risk, you know,
is even more when you have to put them through
(04:18):
back to back open heart surgeries. Doctor von Stearns figured
out how to solve all four congenital heart defects in
one surgery. He published it sent it out to other hospitals,
other institutions, so that when they see a heart that
(04:38):
looks like Bennett's, they will know how to fix that
baby's heart in that one surgery. So, yes, Bennett is
a miracle. Yes, thank you God. But Bennett is a
miracle because of obviously God, and because of the team
at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
And now there are Bennett's babies living all over the world.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Been it?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Yes, And because of our Heart Institute and the work
that doctor von Stearns does as Children's.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Hospital Los Angeles.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Oh my God, Okay, it is a Niki Deloche takeover
here on Giving Tuesday. Miracles happen every day at CHLA
Give Give Give Coast one oh three five dot com
slash Chla more with Niki will be right vax Coast
one oh three point five loving the LLENK Morning.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Show for your number one fand we love you, We
love you. Make us a precint on your iHeartRadio app.
We love you to thank you so much post one
o three point five.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Giving Tuesday here on the llen K Morning Show and
Niki DeLoach with us now a patient, parent, actress, philanthropist,
head of the board. You do so much your co chair,
You're I mean, where do you get all your energy?
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Nikki oh Man? I think I was born with it.
My mother told me that she walked me into a
doctor at three years old and said, something's wrong with her.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
She really she's broken and you've got to fix her.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
And so the doctor was like, okay, you know, I'll
assess her. And then he came back and he was like, well,
so you know, bad news is nothing's wrong with her.
Good news is nothing's wrong with her. You're just gonna
have to wake up about three hours ahead of her
every single day.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
So I was born with this energy.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
And I'm so grateful for it because there's nothing that
I'm doing in my life, whether it's homemark or Children's
Hospital Los Angeles, or the work I get to do
in the space of dementia and Alzheimer's and caregivers. That
doesn't light me up from the inside out. And it's
also hard not to be excited when you are talking
(06:50):
about Children's Hospital Los Angeles, which is blows my mind daily.
I am never not in all of them.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Well, let's talk about the research that they because that's
everything and we need that to keep going because they're
the leaders really in the world. Yes, for the things
that they are capable of doing, and I know that
that research. Your son has been part of that research.
That research lives on and it seems like every year
things are getting better faster.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Yes, but it's only they can only get better faster
with financial support.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And we do have.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
I mean, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is fifth top specialty
hospital in the world. So we take for granted that
if something should happen to one of our children, you know,
we can just take them to the hospital and they
will fix them. We don't really understand the nuance that
happens on a daily basis. To be able to get
(07:48):
to the place where the doctors can cure these rare
cancers you know, just take for example, our pediatric oncology institute,
and because of the money that we have been able
to raise and pour into that institute, we are one
of the top pediatric oncology institutes in the country. And
we have this zebrafish. You know, you guys, you have
(08:14):
to pardon me. I got a boat from the homework
Christmas cruise last night and my brain is still coming
back online. But what they realized with this is that
zebrafish have a lot of the same biology as human beings,
and so that they can use them to study how
to cure these rare, rare cancers.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
I have never heard of this in my life.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
Yes, and so now up to eighty something percent of
our kids who have leukemia who are coming into this
hospital are being cured and leaving in remission. And it
is it's miraculous, yes, but it is only because they
have spent They wake up, these our researchers, our doctors,
our scientists, and every single day they wake up and
(08:57):
their purpose every second is what more can we do
and learn and expand on to be able to save
more lives Because they want to get that number from
say eighty seven percent survival to one hundred percent. They
are literally focused on that thirteen percent all the time,
(09:18):
or that ten percent, or that five percent, and they
will not be happy until it is zero percent, until
every child leaves that hospital life saved. And so they're
only able to do that through the support. And I'm
telling you, guys, you know I've raised money for this
hospital for years. One dollar, five dollars, ten dollars, twenty five,
(09:39):
one hundred, whatever you can give.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
No amount is too little, truly.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
I mean, my kids do lemonade stands and they'll raise
sixty dollars. Sixty dollars is sixty dollars. That goes towards
the cause. And there is no greater cause than honestly
saving the life of a child.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
And let's talk about that.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
So the Benny bracelet, Oh yeah, yeah, So tell us
all about the Benny bracelet.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
So you guys, I you know.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
We're always thinking of how do we give back to
the hospital, but also even bigger than that. I did
a shopping event at my house last night last night, no,
last Christmas.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Last year. I did a lot last night.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
I came off a boat, I did a shopping event at.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
My house, took the cat stuff by Crumble on the
Way to bring you Cookies.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
Last year and I had all of these amazing female
entrepreneurs who were vendors who had a beautiful products and
the money went to the hospital. And it got me thinking, Wow,
this is so beautiful. It's female businesses, small businesses who
have this product with so much heart, and all of
(10:50):
them have a heart for also giving back. And what
if I built out essentially Goop but for Philanthroms.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
And so what I'm building and this is the first
collaboration and what will be many is it's called Small Business,
Big Heart and it is highlighting women who have incredible
small businesses and so it's supporting their businesses the community
right and then they're giving back to Chla, to our community.
(11:24):
So the proceeds go directly to the hospital. And it
also shines a light on what they're doing and allows
people to give money to their business and keep their
small business alive while we give back and keep our
hospital alive. So this collaboration with Rain Rain Jewelry, these
(11:44):
two women, little did I know when I met them,
they had been coming to our hospital in gifting nurses
with their jewelry for years and so we started talking
about doing a collaboration and we put together this bracelet.
Then it was a part of the design and it
is called the Benny Bracelet. You can go right now.
(12:04):
You can go to my instagram, Nick DeLoach, that's Nik
d E l o A c H Nick DeLoach.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
You can go to the link of my bio.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
You can buy a Benny bracelet and the Porsche and
all the proceeds actually go directly to the hospital.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Yes, so wonderful.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
I love the way you've combined all these things in
your life to help sit Ejla.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
And we're gonna come right back to Niki del So.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Niki Deloch takeover Yeah Bay Tuesday, wake up with ellen K.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
You guys are the best.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
I love listening to you. I listen to you every day.
We love being here with you. Coast one oh three
point bove Nikki Delouch. We love you, we love what
you do. HLA same back, ellen K.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Thank you well, thank you for taking over this hour.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
We are raising funds for Children's Hospital Los Angeles, giving
Tuesday to give back and you have something incredible with
a grand Ole Opry Smiths. And this is also an
upcoming Hallmark movie and the one hundred and twenty fifth
anniversary of CHLA. So you've tied once again. You've tied
all of your passions together. Tell us about this movie. Oh,
(13:12):
you guys, I'm so excited about this movie. Well, you know,
first of all, it's it's with the grand Ole Opry,
and I can't miracles right, big and small every day.
So when I was a little girl growing up, I
knew I always wanted to be an entertainer. And my
daddy was such a big champion. Music was our love language,
(13:32):
and he would drive me to and from my singing lessons,
my dance lessons, and we would listen to the Opry
on the radio and to the greats like Randy Travis, Minskale, Dollyriba,
you know, all of those amazing country music singers. And
he would say to me, you know, one day, if
you work hard enough, maybe you could be on that stage.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
And I would say to him, Dad.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
That's ridiculous, Like that stage is for Dolly, that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Stages for Tricia.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Year would and so, you know, one of the things
my dad and I wanted to do together that we
never got to do because, by the way, in the
same week in the spring of twenty seventeen that I
found out about Bennett's heart defects. I found out that
my dad was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive condition,
(14:20):
Picks disease, which is a form of dementia, And so
I knew he was not going to make it, and
it was the question was how much time.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Did we have left? Have left?
Speaker 4 (14:31):
And the two places we had always talked about going
together and we never made it before he passed was
the grand Ole Opry and to see James Taylor in concert.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
So when Hallmark called.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
To say, we would love you to start in our
tent pole movie. We are doing a collaboration with a
grand ol Opry, I could I just burst into tears.
I could not believe the divine, you know, connection in
this moment. So when I stepped through the doors of
the grand Ole Opry, you guys, I didn't stop crying
(15:05):
for the entire movie. And it is a movie about
a woman with a dream of being a singer songwriter
and because life just knocked her down so many times,
she didn't get that chance. But through the magic of
Christmas and the Opry, she goes back into time when her.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Dad was alive.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Oh my God and she is reconnected with her father
and she m I can't give away anything. You can
imagine what is going on in my head and my
heart when I'm reading.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
This Chris, Yes, and just.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Looking up into the sky and going, Dad, I can't
believe this.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
And your dad believe that.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
My Dad yes.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
And so I tell people when you've gone through grief
and loss and believe me. My dad was my north star.
He still is and they are still with you. Yeah,
call them, ask them to be there, ask them to
show up. They will. A boy, did my dad deliver?
And you guys, one more thing I have to share.
So when we were doing press at the Opry, I
(16:08):
happened to share this story and management at the Opry
overheard it that you know, I wanted to go to
the Opry and we wanted to see James Taylor and
we never got to. So one of the managers approached
our team at Hallmark and said, James Taylor is doing
his Opry debut on November eleventh, and we would love
(16:29):
to have Nicki there to be one of our guest presenters.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
So I got to go to the Opry.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
My dad's three favorite singers were on stage that night,
Come On, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, and James Taylor made
his debut, and I sat side stage at the Opry,
and I introduced Vince Gill onto the stage, and I
cried and smiled and laughed and sang my way through
(16:59):
James Taylor's performance and then got to meet him, and
I got to tell him how much he was the
soundtrack of our relationship. Almost every core memory with my
dad had James Taylor's music attached to it, and he
hugged me.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
He was the most gracious, generous, kind man.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
And all I can say is that heart and that
magic is in the Grand ol Opry Christmas. When you
watch it, it is one of the most extraordinary experiences
I've ever had these last couple of months. And all
I can say, guys, if you were in grief and
you were wondering where that loved one was, just call
on them.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
They will be there.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Because miracles happen every single day for all of us.
We just have to open our hearts and have the
faith to believe in them.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Okay, we're going to dry our tears.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
We'll be bad with mor Nikki DeLoach on Coast for
Giving Tuesday, past.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
One oh three point one, it's the L and K
Morning Show. You guys are me. I appreciate everything you
do and for making everybody smile every day, no matter
what the circumstance. So thank you.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Post one three point five.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Giving Tuesday is always a beautiful surprise.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
It's like a gift to open up because.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
We hear so many beautiful stories of survival and hope
and love like you're sharing, Nikki Delouche.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
And thank you for taking over this hour.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
You know, just from your son Bennett being born with
this this quadruple problem, and then doctor von Stearn's fixing
the problem with one surgery, and and then onto your
dad and all the experiences you've had as an actress,
and just how how heaven is with us?
Speaker 3 (18:45):
You know, I say how the time.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
I say whenever we're having a really good time with
someone we love.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
That is heaven.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
It is it is our job is to bring heaven
to earth. We forget that so much because life is
hard and we get so muddled down in things that
might not be going right. And I get it, it's
hard right now for so many people. But we forget right,
(19:14):
We forget to extend our hand whether to help that
we need that we're afraid to ask for, or help
that we could potentially give that and so, but I
truly believe that what is our purpose here right? What
is our purpose here? It is to bring heaven to earth?
(19:39):
And what does that look like? It looks like us
showing up for not just the people we love, but
for the strangers amongst us, you know, and just looking
around and saying how can I be of service? And
it might be just reaching out to a friend and
saying I'm thinking about you, how are you today?
Speaker 2 (19:58):
That's it?
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Or it might be a donation to Children's Hospital Los Angeles,
Or it might be you know, doing what the opry
did for me and making this little girl's heart who
loves her daddy so much, you know, giving her a
moment that she will never forget.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
We could do it in big ways, we could do
it in small ways.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
But the point is show.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Up, yep, show up.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Jamie Lee Curtis sent us a tile that she recovered
from her neighbor's home in the Palisades that burned down,
and it.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Says, talk about a woman that shows up.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Yeah, I mean, come on. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
To live is to learn to learn is to know.
To know is to grow. To grow is to give.
To give us to live. That's right, that's it.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
To give is to live.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
And man, I tell people all the time, if you're happy,
give back. If you're sad, give back, If you're angry,
give back. Nothing that will cut through a feeling of
sadness or depression or isolation or anger quicker than watching somebody.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Else light up because something you.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
Are able to give to them in that moment and
it just dissipates. So people say, like, how do you
have the energy?
Speaker 3 (21:19):
How are you so happy.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
All the time?
Speaker 4 (21:21):
Because I just so much of my life is spent
in philanthropic areas with Children's Hospital Los Angeles, with the
Alzheimer's Association, with Mind What Matters. It's a nonprofit where
we give financial grants to caregivers of loved ones that
have neurodegenerative illnesses. Caregivers are struggling, and we literally put
(21:44):
money in your pockets. And so it's called Mind What Matters.
If anybody out there is struggling, come find us on Instagram.
But because I think I get to be a part
of all of this support and supporting communities, it is.
It's like dope me.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
You know your fuel.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
It is your fuel.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
It's my fuel that gets me out of bed and
keeps me going, and it lights up my world to
be able to see that you can make even an
ounce of difference in somebody's life. So, you know, guys,
if you have five minutes, ten minutes an hour, if
you have five dollars, one hundred dollars, ten thousand dollars,
whatever it is you know, just show up. I can
guarantee you you know, it will make somebody's life better.
(22:26):
It sure will help our hospital and our doctors and
those children, but it's also going to light your life.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Up to coast one of three five dot com slash
c hla, I have a gift for your dad.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
All of my these are tears of love.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Thanks Nick. Of course, it's a dummit if you
Giving Tuesday would not be Giving Tuesday without our friend
Nikki Deloch. Nikki, thank you for taking over this hour
with us.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Thank you so much for letting me be here. It's
so good to see you guys always.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
You always bring the holiday cheer and the Chla cheer.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
And you're no.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Stranger to Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Let's tell everyone about Bennett. Yes,
go there, if you don't mind, that would be our
starting point. Yeah, of course.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
So spring of twenty seventeen, I am pregnant with my
second child.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
I'm so excited to go.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
In and do you know the four D echo cardiogram
that you do when you technically have a geriatric pregnancy,
which we have.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
To really work on the name.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Yeah, I don't like that.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
N Nope, Nope, me neither. But I was.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
I was considered a geriatric pregnancy. So I went in
to get my four D FETO echo cardiogram and learned
that he had multiple congenital heart defects and very very
very serious ones, and so we I was. I was
so fortunate because I there was a friend of mine
(01:13):
who had a friend. It's always a friend, yeah, a friend, yes,
and her daughter, her name the mom's name is Kelly's eife,
and Hi Kelly, I love you so much. And Kelly's
daughter Lily had had heart surgery at Children's Hospital. So
my friend put me in touch with Kelly immediately, and
Kelly put me in touch with the team at Children's
(01:34):
Hospital Los Angeles. And you know, because I had never
gone through something like this, I met with several doctors
and it was so hopeless. I mean I just left
one meeting after another with doctors not really knowing how
to deal with Bennett's heart because it was so complicated.
(01:56):
This was in utero, yes, they you know, I left
thinking wow. You know, I knew that it was a
very serious heart condition, but after meeting with these doctors,
I thought every time I.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Left, I was more and more hopeless.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Until I met with doctor von Starns at Children's Hospital
Los Angeles. And you know, I've heard this so much
from other mothers who have gone through what I have
and have have had doctor von starn save their child.
There is something you feel in his presence and I
(02:33):
don't know how to explain it. It is divine, But
that is a man that when I sat in front
of him and he said, I know who you've met with.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
I know what they've told you.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
They've probably told you these stats, this percentage of him
surviving the surgery, this, this, And I'm nodding yes, yes,
And he looks at me and says, well, I'm going
to tell you that I know how to save your
son's life. And I like, even today, you know you're
right back in that room. And I just exploded with tears.
And it was the first moment that I had hope,
(03:09):
because as a parent, you feel so helpless. You're not
a surgeon, you're not you don't know how to save them.
But the one thing you can do is find the
best team, the best hospital, the best doctor. And at
least you can put your head on the pillow at
night and know that you have given your child the
(03:32):
best hope and not just surviving that surgery, but thriving
outside of it. And so I gave birth at five
days old, Bennett had his first open heart surgery. And
you know, Bennett is a first of his kind, Yes,
because he had four congenital heart defects, transposition of the
(03:56):
great arteries, he had a collapse day order, he had
a hole in his heart, and he only had one
coronary artery not two, and that coronary artery was in
the wrong place. And usually with a child like Bennett,
they would have to do that surgery in two, which
is so hard on the kid. Yes, the risk, you know,
is even more when you have to put them through
(04:18):
back to back open heart surgeries. Doctor von Stearns figured
out how to solve all four congenital heart defects in
one surgery. He published it sent it out to other hospitals,
other institutions, so that when they see a heart that
(04:38):
looks like Bennett's, they will know how to fix that
baby's heart in that one surgery. So, yes, Bennett is
a miracle. Yes, thank you God. But Bennett is a
miracle because of obviously God, and because of the team
at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
And now there are Bennett's babies living all over the world.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Been it?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Yes, And because of our Heart Institute and the work
that doctor von Stearns does as Children's.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
Hospital Los Angeles.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Oh my God, Okay, it is a Niki Deloche takeover
here on Giving Tuesday. Miracles happen every day at CHLA
Give Give Give Coast one oh three five dot com
slash Chla more with Niki will be right vax Coast
one oh three point five loving the LLENK Morning.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Show for your number one fand we love you, We
love you. Make us a precint on your iHeartRadio app.
We love you to thank you so much post one
o three point five.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
Giving Tuesday here on the llen K Morning Show and
Niki DeLoach with us now a patient, parent, actress, philanthropist,
head of the board. You do so much your co chair,
You're I mean, where do you get all your energy?
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Nikki oh Man? I think I was born with it.
My mother told me that she walked me into a
doctor at three years old and said, something's wrong with her.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
She really she's broken and you've got to fix her.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
And so the doctor was like, okay, you know, I'll
assess her. And then he came back and he was like, well,
so you know, bad news is nothing's wrong with her.
Good news is nothing's wrong with her. You're just gonna
have to wake up about three hours ahead of her
every single day.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
So I was born with this energy.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
And I'm so grateful for it because there's nothing that
I'm doing in my life, whether it's homemark or Children's
Hospital Los Angeles, or the work I get to do
in the space of dementia and Alzheimer's and caregivers. That
doesn't light me up from the inside out. And it's
also hard not to be excited when you are talking
(06:50):
about Children's Hospital Los Angeles, which is blows my mind daily.
I am never not in all of them.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Well, let's talk about the research that they because that's
everything and we need that to keep going because they're
the leaders really in the world. Yes, for the things
that they are capable of doing, and I know that
that research. Your son has been part of that research.
That research lives on and it seems like every year
things are getting better faster.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
Yes, but it's only they can only get better faster
with financial support.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
And we do have.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
I mean, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is fifth top specialty
hospital in the world. So we take for granted that
if something should happen to one of our children, you know,
we can just take them to the hospital and they
will fix them. We don't really understand the nuance that
happens on a daily basis. To be able to get
(07:48):
to the place where the doctors can cure these rare
cancers you know, just take for example, our pediatric oncology institute,
and because of the money that we have been able
to raise and pour into that institute, we are one
of the top pediatric oncology institutes in the country. And
we have this zebrafish. You know, you guys, you have
(08:14):
to pardon me. I got a boat from the homework
Christmas cruise last night and my brain is still coming
back online. But what they realized with this is that
zebrafish have a lot of the same biology as human beings,
and so that they can use them to study how
to cure these rare, rare cancers.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
I have never heard of this in my life.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
Yes, and so now up to eighty something percent of
our kids who have leukemia who are coming into this
hospital are being cured and leaving in remission. And it
is it's miraculous, yes, but it is only because they
have spent They wake up, these our researchers, our doctors,
our scientists, and every single day they wake up and
(08:57):
their purpose every second is what more can we do
and learn and expand on to be able to save
more lives Because they want to get that number from
say eighty seven percent survival to one hundred percent. They
are literally focused on that thirteen percent all the time,
(09:18):
or that ten percent, or that five percent, and they
will not be happy until it is zero percent, until
every child leaves that hospital life saved. And so they're
only able to do that through the support. And I'm
telling you, guys, you know I've raised money for this
hospital for years. One dollar, five dollars, ten dollars, twenty five,
(09:39):
one hundred, whatever you can give.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
No amount is too little, truly.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
I mean, my kids do lemonade stands and they'll raise
sixty dollars. Sixty dollars is sixty dollars. That goes towards
the cause. And there is no greater cause than honestly
saving the life of a child.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
And let's talk about that.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
So the Benny bracelet, Oh yeah, yeah, So tell us
all about the Benny bracelet.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
So you guys, I you know.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
We're always thinking of how do we give back to
the hospital, but also even bigger than that. I did
a shopping event at my house last night last night, no,
last Christmas.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Last year. I did a lot last night.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
I came off a boat, I did a shopping event at.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
My house, took the cat stuff by Crumble on the
Way to bring you Cookies.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
Last year and I had all of these amazing female
entrepreneurs who were vendors who had a beautiful products and
the money went to the hospital. And it got me thinking, Wow,
this is so beautiful. It's female businesses, small businesses who
have this product with so much heart, and all of
(10:50):
them have a heart for also giving back. And what
if I built out essentially Goop but for Philanthroms.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
And so what I'm building and this is the first
collaboration and what will be many is it's called Small Business,
Big Heart and it is highlighting women who have incredible
small businesses and so it's supporting their businesses the community
right and then they're giving back to Chla, to our community.
(11:24):
So the proceeds go directly to the hospital. And it
also shines a light on what they're doing and allows
people to give money to their business and keep their
small business alive while we give back and keep our
hospital alive. So this collaboration with Rain Rain Jewelry, these
(11:44):
two women, little did I know when I met them,
they had been coming to our hospital in gifting nurses
with their jewelry for years and so we started talking
about doing a collaboration and we put together this bracelet.
Then it was a part of the design and it
is called the Benny Bracelet. You can go right now.
(12:04):
You can go to my instagram, Nick DeLoach, that's Nik
d E l o A c H Nick DeLoach.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
You can go to the link of my bio.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
You can buy a Benny bracelet and the Porsche and
all the proceeds actually go directly to the hospital.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Yes, so wonderful.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
I love the way you've combined all these things in
your life to help sit Ejla.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
And we're gonna come right back to Niki del So.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Niki Deloch takeover Yeah Bay Tuesday, wake up with ellen K.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
You guys are the best.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
I love listening to you. I listen to you every day.
We love being here with you. Coast one oh three
point bove Nikki Delouch. We love you, we love what
you do. HLA same back, ellen K.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Thank you well, thank you for taking over this hour.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
We are raising funds for Children's Hospital Los Angeles, giving
Tuesday to give back and you have something incredible with
a grand Ole Opry Smiths. And this is also an
upcoming Hallmark movie and the one hundred and twenty fifth
anniversary of CHLA. So you've tied once again. You've tied
all of your passions together. Tell us about this movie. Oh,
(13:12):
you guys, I'm so excited about this movie. Well, you know,
first of all, it's it's with the grand Ole Opry,
and I can't miracles right, big and small every day.
So when I was a little girl growing up, I
knew I always wanted to be an entertainer. And my
daddy was such a big champion. Music was our love language,
(13:32):
and he would drive me to and from my singing lessons,
my dance lessons, and we would listen to the Opry
on the radio and to the greats like Randy Travis, Minskale, Dollyriba,
you know, all of those amazing country music singers. And
he would say to me, you know, one day, if
you work hard enough, maybe you could be on that stage.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
And I would say to him, Dad.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
That's ridiculous, Like that stage is for Dolly, that.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
Stages for Tricia.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Year would and so, you know, one of the things
my dad and I wanted to do together that we
never got to do because, by the way, in the
same week in the spring of twenty seventeen that I
found out about Bennett's heart defects. I found out that
my dad was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive condition,
(14:20):
Picks disease, which is a form of dementia, And so
I knew he was not going to make it, and
it was the question was how much time.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Did we have left? Have left?
Speaker 4 (14:31):
And the two places we had always talked about going
together and we never made it before he passed was
the grand Ole Opry and to see James Taylor in concert.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
So when Hallmark called.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
To say, we would love you to start in our
tent pole movie. We are doing a collaboration with a
grand ol Opry, I could I just burst into tears.
I could not believe the divine, you know, connection in
this moment. So when I stepped through the doors of
the grand Ole Opry, you guys, I didn't stop crying
(15:05):
for the entire movie. And it is a movie about
a woman with a dream of being a singer songwriter
and because life just knocked her down so many times,
she didn't get that chance. But through the magic of
Christmas and the Opry, she goes back into time when her.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Dad was alive.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Oh my God and she is reconnected with her father
and she m I can't give away anything. You can
imagine what is going on in my head and my
heart when I'm reading.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
This Chris, Yes, and just.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Looking up into the sky and going, Dad, I can't
believe this.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
And your dad believe that.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
My Dad yes.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
And so I tell people when you've gone through grief
and loss and believe me. My dad was my north star.
He still is and they are still with you. Yeah,
call them, ask them to be there, ask them to
show up. They will. A boy, did my dad deliver?
And you guys, one more thing I have to share.
So when we were doing press at the Opry, I
(16:08):
happened to share this story and management at the Opry
overheard it that you know, I wanted to go to
the Opry and we wanted to see James Taylor and
we never got to. So one of the managers approached
our team at Hallmark and said, James Taylor is doing
his Opry debut on November eleventh, and we would love
(16:29):
to have Nicki there to be one of our guest presenters.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
So I got to go to the Opry.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
My dad's three favorite singers were on stage that night,
Come On, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, and James Taylor made
his debut, and I sat side stage at the Opry,
and I introduced Vince Gill onto the stage, and I
cried and smiled and laughed and sang my way through
(16:59):
James Taylor's performance and then got to meet him, and
I got to tell him how much he was the
soundtrack of our relationship. Almost every core memory with my
dad had James Taylor's music attached to it, and he
hugged me.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
He was the most gracious, generous, kind man.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
And all I can say is that heart and that
magic is in the Grand ol Opry Christmas. When you
watch it, it is one of the most extraordinary experiences
I've ever had these last couple of months. And all
I can say, guys, if you were in grief and
you were wondering where that loved one was, just call
on them.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
They will be there.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Because miracles happen every single day for all of us.
We just have to open our hearts and have the
faith to believe in them.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Okay, we're going to dry our tears.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
We'll be bad with mor Nikki DeLoach on Coast for
Giving Tuesday, past.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
One oh three point one, it's the L and K
Morning Show. You guys are me. I appreciate everything you
do and for making everybody smile every day, no matter
what the circumstance. So thank you.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Post one three point five.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Giving Tuesday is always a beautiful surprise.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
It's like a gift to open up because.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
We hear so many beautiful stories of survival and hope
and love like you're sharing, Nikki Delouche.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
And thank you for taking over this hour.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
You know, just from your son Bennett being born with
this this quadruple problem, and then doctor von Stearn's fixing
the problem with one surgery, and and then onto your
dad and all the experiences you've had as an actress,
and just how how heaven is with us?
Speaker 3 (18:45):
You know, I say how the time.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
I say whenever we're having a really good time with
someone we love.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
That is heaven.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
It is it is our job is to bring heaven
to earth. We forget that so much because life is
hard and we get so muddled down in things that
might not be going right. And I get it, it's
hard right now for so many people. But we forget right,
(19:14):
We forget to extend our hand whether to help that
we need that we're afraid to ask for, or help
that we could potentially give that and so, but I
truly believe that what is our purpose here right? What
is our purpose here? It is to bring heaven to earth?
(19:39):
And what does that look like? It looks like us
showing up for not just the people we love, but
for the strangers amongst us, you know, and just looking
around and saying how can I be of service? And
it might be just reaching out to a friend and
saying I'm thinking about you, how are you today?
Speaker 2 (19:58):
That's it?
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Or it might be a donation to Children's Hospital Los Angeles,
Or it might be you know, doing what the opry
did for me and making this little girl's heart who
loves her daddy so much, you know, giving her a
moment that she will never forget.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
We could do it in big ways, we could do
it in small ways.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
But the point is show.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Up, yep, show up.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Jamie Lee Curtis sent us a tile that she recovered
from her neighbor's home in the Palisades that burned down,
and it.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Says, talk about a woman that shows up.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Yeah, I mean, come on. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
To live is to learn to learn is to know.
To know is to grow. To grow is to give.
To give us to live. That's right, that's it.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
To give is to live.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
And man, I tell people all the time, if you're happy,
give back. If you're sad, give back, If you're angry,
give back. Nothing that will cut through a feeling of
sadness or depression or isolation or anger quicker than watching somebody.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Else light up because something you.
Speaker 4 (21:12):
Are able to give to them in that moment and
it just dissipates. So people say, like, how do you
have the energy?
Speaker 3 (21:19):
How are you so happy.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
All the time?
Speaker 4 (21:21):
Because I just so much of my life is spent
in philanthropic areas with Children's Hospital Los Angeles, with the
Alzheimer's Association, with Mind What Matters. It's a nonprofit where
we give financial grants to caregivers of loved ones that
have neurodegenerative illnesses. Caregivers are struggling, and we literally put
(21:44):
money in your pockets. And so it's called Mind What Matters.
If anybody out there is struggling, come find us on Instagram.
But because I think I get to be a part
of all of this support and supporting communities, it is.
It's like dope me.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
You know your fuel.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
It is your fuel.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
It's my fuel that gets me out of bed and
keeps me going, and it lights up my world to
be able to see that you can make even an
ounce of difference in somebody's life. So, you know, guys,
if you have five minutes, ten minutes an hour, if
you have five dollars, one hundred dollars, ten thousand dollars,
whatever it is you know, just show up. I can
guarantee you you know, it will make somebody's life better.
(22:26):
It sure will help our hospital and our doctors and
those children, but it's also going to light your life.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Up to coast one of three five dot com slash
c hla, I have a gift for your dad.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
All of my these are tears of love.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Thanks Nick. Of course, it's a dummit if you
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