As a parent, having a child is one of the most incredible experiences in the world. Having a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit though can be absolutely frightening.

"It's a great unknown," said Mary Ellen Michael, Director of Nursing, Akron Children's Hospital Neonatal Services. "You don't know what the outcome will be, you don't know if your baby is in the right place, you don't know what to expect."

Rachel Wardle went through it four and a half years ago with her twins, James and Claire.

"We were going through the hardest time you know of our lives, first time parents, we had no idea what to expect and the kids were only given a 15% chance of surviving," said Wardle. "They were born at 23 weeks, 4 days so they were only one pound, seven ounces each."

The babies ended up spending months at Akron Children's Hospital's main campus.

"I have a very vague memory of my nurse wheeling me down a hallway and just telling me like Rachel, they made it," Wardle said. "Later on that night I got to go down to the NICU here and see them, they were just teeny and red, they could fit in your hands but they were fully formed like all their fingers and toes but their eyes were still fused shut and you could just see completely through their bodies, they were just transparent at that point."

It was a trying time for Rachel and her husband Barry, but they found solace thanks to the Wall of Hope.

"We looked at that wall and those kids pictures and read their stories everyday for months on end," Wardle said.

The Wall of Hope shares stories of the challenges babies faced in the NICU and their incredible outcomes.

"It's really nice, we have a little bit of history with each picture that kind of tells about what obstacles and challenges each of those babies had and then shows current day pictures where they look wonderful, smiling, playing and some of them so very successful that they are actually working here," said Michael.

Rachel was so moved, that she wanted a Wall of Hope for families in the Mahoning Valley. Finally, after more than two years of work, the Wall of Hope, featuring James and Claire, is now a reality outside the NICU at St. E's Boardman.

"Just to be able to bring that back here where they were born and where we live and just share that hope and that inspiration with other people is simply amazing," Wardle said.

"It should be reassuring to the families to know they are in the right place, that their babies will receive the care they need when they're here at Akron Children's of Mahoning Valley," said Michael.

This Wall of Hope features the incredible stories of 17 different children and was a project made possible thanks to a donation by Rich and Nancy Wardle.

"I'm so impressed and I'm so happy and I think one of the most emotional things that can happen to new parents, especially new parents, is having a child in the NICU," said Nancy Wardle. "You do get a hopeless feeling but when you see these inspiring stories and you see the children now as opposed to when they were born, it's a real blessing to be able to give that ray of hope."

A ray of hope when families need it most.

"I want the parents, I want our family and friends to be able to just stand here, sit here and look at all these happy faces, all the success that comes out of this hospital and give them hope just as it's intended to do," Wardle said. "I just want them to see, like oh my child is going through that now and that and that and all these kids made it and just to know they are in the best hands possible."

"It's just an incredible donation and so inspiring for so many people now and for many, many years to come," Michael said.