Chelsea Arledge went into labor at 20 weeks. No one gave her any hope that her premature son would live. No one, except Mercy Medical Center NICU nurse Joann Thorpe.
“She just was so caring and loving and she just treated him as she would treat her own baby,” Arledge said. “It felt like she really loved him.”
Arledge's difficult delivery was in 2008. Her son made it. Travis is now a 7-year-old first-grader at Millville Elementary.
Arledge nominated Thorpe for the NICU Heroes award. Thorpe beat out something like 1,500 nominees across the country, sharing the prize with one other winner in Bend, Oregon.
Thorpe herself had a premature delivery with one of her children, and that early exposure to the NICU prompted her to become a NICU nurse. She calls the whole thing God’s plan, and it does seem almost predestined: Arledge plans on following in her footsteps.
“As I’m nearing the end of my career, Chelsea’s going to be taking over,” Thorpe said. “She’ll be entering in the nursing program with the intent, as I had, to be a NICU nurse.”
The NICU Heroes award was presented by Hand to Hold. They’re an organization that among other things, provides support for parents of premature babies by connecting them with other seasoned parents of premature babies. Hand to Hold donated $2,500 to Mercy Foundation North in Thorpe’s honor.