A labor and delivery nurse saved a baby during a rare complication—and 22 years later that baby married her son
When you find the person you’re going to marry, meeting your future in-laws can be an exciting step in the relationship. For 22-year-old Kelsey West, that moment had already happened, long before she met her now-husband, Tyler West. In fact, she met her future mother-in-law 22 years ago, when she was the labor and delivery nurse who saved Kelsey’s life.
The unlikely, heartwarming story went viral after it appeared on a local news site in Salt Lake City, where the families live. Kelsey Poll worked at a bank, where Tyler West came in to deposit a check. The two hit it off, sparks flew, and they ended up getting married. But in the months leading up to the wedding, when they had their families meet for what they thought was the first time, they discovered the surprise.
First, Kelsey’s mom, Stacy, took note that Tyler’s mom, Mary Ann, worked at the hospital where Kelsey was born. Then, she realized that Mary Ann looked a little familiar. Finally, Tyler confirmed it—he was looking through old family photo albums and found one of minutes-old Kelsey getting her footprints stamped by a nurse. The nurse was Mary Ann, his mom.
But there’s actually more to this already incredible story.
“When I was in labor, I told her that something didn’t feel right, so she checked me,” Stacy told KSL. Mary Ann discovered that Stacy had a rare complication called velamentous cord insertion, where her umbilical cord vessels were inserted into her amniotic sac instead of her placenta. The condition can cause blood loss for both mom and baby—and is potentially fatal to both. But Mary Ann was able to help deliver Kelsey safely.
“I remembered Kelsey’s birth because I had never experienced labor like this, before or since,” Mary Ann said. “She really is a miracle, and it really does feel like it was meant to be.”
Stacy added, “It really has come full circle. When Kelsey was born, Mary Ann was the first one to say ‘welcome to the world.’ She touched Kelsey before I did.”
