Modesto, Calif. – Aug. 16, 2022 – A former patient in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Doctors Medical Center recently published a children’s book, inspired by his own story, with the goal of offering hope to parents with premature infants.

Naunihal “Nihal” Gill, 17, is a high school junior at Turlock High School. Born prematurely at 27.5 weeks, Nihal spent the first two and a half months of his life in the Level III NICU at Doctors Medical Center. After hearing his mother recount their shared NICU experience after his birth, he was inspired to write a book to help alleviate the worry and anxiety of parents with preemies.

In I May Be Small but I Am a Lion at Heart, Nihal presents an inspirational children’s book narrated by a premature baby in the NICU. He hopes the book provides emotional strength and comfort to parents and serves as a bonding tool for parents and babies in the NICU.

Nihal and his mother recently visited the NICU team at Doctors Medical Center to donate several copies of his book, which he autographed. He also read the book’s dedication aloud for the team:

“To my mom and grandma, who spent hours in the NICU every day praying for me and being by my side as I learned to survive in a new environment. To my neonatologist for giving my family hope and courage when they had no idea what to expect with the birth of a premature baby. To the warm-hearted and wonderful NICU staff at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, California, for their compassion in providing the best care for the tiny miracles who depend on them.”

I May Be Small but I Am a Lion at Heart is available for purchase online at Amazon.com. All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to March of Dimes and The Tiny Miracles Foundation.

Nihal is a National Merit Community Service Award winner. He is passionate about helping others in his community and enjoys playing sports, especially golf.