DENVER — Sandy Prince has never forgotten the day ten years ago her son Carter entered this world. He was three months premature and weighed just five pounds.
Carter spent 78 days in the NICU. Prince credits the nurses at the Rose Medical Center NICU for saving her son’s life in those early days and helping him grow.
“I don't know how else to thank them,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I thank them a million times, but words only do so much.”
Many of those nurses still work in the NICU, and now Prince does as a volunteer, too.
“They saved my baby, so that's why I’m here,” she said. “It means the world. I owe them everything.”
NICU director Tracy Anderson was one of the nurses at Prince’s bedside 10 years ago when Carter was born, calling it a pleasure to be part of the family’s journey. Anderson said it was easy to say "yes" when Prince called and asked if she could be a NICU volunteer.
“She has just given back as part of her journey and her closure, which is meaningful,” Anderson said.
Carter is now a spunky fourth grader with a younger sister, and his mom likes to show the nurses pictures of the two growing up.
Still, she has a soft spot in her heart for the tiny babies in the NICU. Luckily, being a NICU volunteer comes with some perks, like occasionally getting to cuddle those little ones.
“It's not very often, which is good," Prince said. "But it's the best part of it.”
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