She was welcomed by NYC moms in her time of need — now North Carolina nurse is paying it forward
It's her labor of love.
A North Carolina woman showered with love and support by an army of Big Apple moms after she went into extremely premature labor during a business trip to NYC paid the kindness forward — by becoming a labor and delivery nurse.
'Because of New York, I am a nurse,' former cosmetics saleswoman Shelcie Holbert told The Post of her new gig, which she's been at four weeks this Mother's Day.
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Holbert was only 23 and six months pregnant when she visited New York in June 2018 for what was supposed to be a three-day business trip.
4 Rosalie Grace was born at just 1 pound, 9 ounces.
Helayne Seidman
But on the first day, she rushed to the emergency room with pressure in her abdomen.
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She was transferred to Mount Sinai West on the Upper West Side which specializes in preterm labor, and a week later, gave birth to little Rosalie Grace, clinging to life at only 1 pound, 9 ounces.
She spent three harrowing months with her daughter in the neonatal intensive care, watching her struggle to survive.
'It gave me a whole new outlook on life,' Holbert said.
When other moms there learned about Holbert and her husband Jacob Wallace, who who had no family in New York City, they offered them a place to stay, dinners, gift cards and new clothes.
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4 Big Apple moms banded together to help Holbert after she went into premature labor with her oldest daughter while alone on a business trip in New York.
Helayne Seidman
'I felt like I could never repay the people who donated to us, or shared our story or cared,' said Holbert.
'What could I do to kind of balance the scales a bit and show them, 'I am really grateful for what you did' — other than become a nurse?'
Holbert has been assisting with Caesarean sections at Atrium Health in Charlotte, NC.
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'I love it,' she said. 'I want to be able to advocate for women and children.'
4 Holbert now works as a labor and delivery nurse assisting in caesarean sections.
Courtesy of Shelcie Holbert
Her path from skin care to scrubs was anything but straightforward.
'It took me some time to finish [nursing school] because being a mom and going to school, it's not the easiest thing ever,' she said with a laugh.
Her time in the city that never sleeps paid off.
'Being in the NICU like that for hours and hours and hours, for months, I can't even explain to you how much that put me ahead in school,' she said.
4 Rosalie Grace is an energetic 6-year-old and oldest of Holbert's three kids.
Courtesy of Shelcie Holbert
Rosalie is now an energetic 6-year-old — and big sister to younger siblings Noah, 4, and Chloe, 2.
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'I learned what went wrong for me with Rosalie,' said Holbert, who explained a weak cervix contributed to the early labor in her first pregnancy, while a procedure called a cervical cerclage, in which the cervix is stitched closed, allowed her to carry her subsequent children to term.
Now a single mom, Holbert and Rosalie visit New York and the lifelong friends they have there about once a year.
'She loves to go back to New York,' Holbert said of her oldest. 'I want my daughter to know where she's from. She's very proud of where she's from.
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'She tells me she wants to be a baby doctor, she wants to do surgeries,' the proud mom said.
'I'm constantly extremely thankful for everything and that would not have been possible if people did not care.'
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