Hallmark’s Nikki DeLoach Reveals Bracelet Inspired by Her Son’s Heart Surgeries (Exclusive)

When Nikki DeLoach‘s son Bennett was born, she faced every parent’s worst nightmare. But in the eight years since, she has turned that experience into action, fundraising and, now, literal gold.

The Hallmark Channel favorite — whose latest movie, Home Turf, premieres Saturday, Oct. 4 — learned that Bennett had several congenital heart defects five months into her pregnancy, and he would need open heart surgery just days after he was delivered. 

“With each appointment before he was born, I left more defeated and more concerned that my baby was not going to be able to survive that first surgery,” DeLoach, 46, recalls to PEOPLE. “By the time we got to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and saw Dr. Vaughn Starnes, I was sitting on the floor because I was so anxious. And he just came in and said, ‘I know how to fix your kid’s heart.’ I came undone emotionally; it was the first time we had a sliver of hope.”

Five days after he was born, Bennett went into surgery, and Dr. Starnes was able to correct all four things wrong with the newborn’s heart in a record-setting single surgery.

Bennett had another surgery at 1 year old and a catheterization procedure at 18 months, but, “knock on wood, none since,” DeLoach says. He’ll likely need another surgery around age 10, but “he’s in a good place,” she adds. “He’s strong.”

Since her journey with CHLA began, DeLoach has been a spokesperson for the hospital and a board member. She went on to run the board for three years and is now the co-chair of CHLA’s largest fundraising initiative. Among her many fundraising avenues, the beloved actress — who began her career on The All New Mickey Mouse Club in the 1990s — has partnered with Raine Jewelry on the “Benny” bracelet. And all proceeds for each piece sold will go to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. 

DeLoach first met the women from Raine during a CHLA shopping event and fundraiser in her home, which she shares with husband Ryan Goodell, Bennett, and his older brother Hudson, 11.

“Their pieces were absolutely beautiful, but the thing that I was so touched by was when I asked them why they said yes [to participating in the event], they were like, ‘We love Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and we have been going to the hospital for years and gifting nurses pieces of our jewelry.’ I was so moved to hear this because nurses are my favorite human beings in the entire world! They are unsung heroes.”

The three women continued to chat, and “they made me this thin chain bracelet and put it on me at the event and, of course, we added a heart and called it The Benny,” DeLoach recalls. 

The piece is delicate on purpose, she says: “The heart itself is a solid structure that changes, and the represents the strength of the heart, the resiliency of every heart warrior and every human who has chosen to move through something really hard with an open heart and courage. And the actual bracelet is super delicate because the heart is so incredibly delicate.”

DeLoach emphasizes that every donation and every purchase counts, and that all the money they raise “goes directly to the hospital,” which is a “safety net” facility, meaning, “we turn no child away regardless of their family’s financial situation or their health insurance,” she explains.

“We are fundraising to keep the doors of this hospital open to be able to continue to give healthcare to kids who can’t afford to get the same life-saving treatment as my Bennett.”

Purchase the Benny bracelet by Nikki DeLoach X Raine Jewelry here, and tune in to Home Turf on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel.