Nurse who lost her baby makes priceless mementos for other parents of ‘angel babies'
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Six years have now passed since an Oklahoma family was forever changed. Liam Farrar was not quite six months old when his parents dropped him off at daycare—never to see him alive again.
Shaken baby syndrome stole Liam's life. 'Kelly's Kids' daycare was shut down, and the owner is now serving life in prison for Liam's death.
Losing a child is a devastation unlike any other in life, but it is what Liam's mother, Alyssa, has been doing for other grieving parents since her son's death, that has earned her a Pay It 4Ward award.
One of those parents is Shelby Nottingham. 'Braxton was actually my miracle baby. I was told at a young age that I was infertile and couldn't carry children naturally.'
Shelby turned to In Vitro Fertilization, and with just one viable egg, she carried baby Braxton for 25 weeks. At 5:33 p.m. on February 17, 2025, time stopped.
'It was the most love I'd ever felt in my life,' Shelby said of holding her son. 'I became preeclamptic and it got to the point that Braxton wasn't growing anymore, and it was doing more damage to my body. So, we went in for an emergency C-section. Braxton did not make it out of the OR room. He was too small and they were unable to intubate him. And then the wonderful staff up here made all kinds of memorabilia for me so that I could always have him with me.'
Nurses at Mercy Hospital's Love Family Women's Center in Oklahoma City packed a bereavement box full of priceless, handmade mementos, a lock of his hair, the tiny hat he wore in the hospital, along with several beautiful photos of Braxton.
Shelby will forever cherish every single item generously made in memory of Braxton, especially several molds of his little hands and feet, handmade by Alyssa, a nurse at the hospital. The molds are incredibly detailed, down to his tiny fingernails.
'He's got super long fingers just like me,' Shelby said.
Alyssa, too, has her own set of molds. She shares the crushing heartache that Shelby feels.
After losing Liam in 2019, she says the pain never goes away, but gets more tolerable as each year passes.
'He was five-months and 28 days,' Alyssa said, as tears filled her eyes. 'He was at the age where his personality was really starting to come out. Interact with sister, and giggle, and grin, and happy. I'll never forget the call. I'll never forget spending the six days in the PICU. I'll never forget having to make the decision to withdraw care for my child.'
Another nurse made Liam's molds for Alyssa then, just as she now does for other parents of angel babies in her care at Mercy.
'These are priceless,' she said of Liam's molds. 'I joke that if my house is going to be hit by a tornado or burn down, I don't care about anything in my house except those. Those are the first things in the storm shelter, they are the first thing we pack, along with a couple of his sleepers and his blanket.'
News 4 spoke separately to Alyssa, who was unaware that her former patient, Shelby, was waiting in the next room, ready to surprise her.
Alyssa's selflessness—coming in on her day off to make Braxton's molds—meant so much to Shelby that she nominated Alyssa for the award just one week after holding her son for the last time.
'I feel like Alyssa is an angel on Earth for being able to not only take on her pain, but the pain of others that she's helping with this stuff,' said Shelby.
'Alyssa's found a way to take her experience and provide something that you can cherish forever and other families can cherish forever. So, on behalf of First Fidelity Bank, I'd like to give you $400 so you can pay it forward,' agreed Amy Mauk, representative with First Fidelity Bank.
'Thank you so much,' Shelby said, as she accepted the cash.
Alyssa thought our News 4 crew was there for a story on the molds that she so graciously makes for patients, on a day which just so happened to be the sixth anniversary of Liam's passing.
However, while interviewing Alyssa, News 4's Heather Holeman then paused and asked Shelby to come out of the next room.
'We're really here for a surprise from someone who received these molds, and she's nominated you for a Pay It 4Ward award. Shelby, if you could come out. She has a gift for you,' Heather said.
The two mothers, who each live with a pain that no parent ever wants to endure, then hugged as the tears flowed.
'I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, but thank you,' whispered Alyssa.
Shelby replied, 'You don't know what these mean to me.'
'I kinda do, a little bit,' Alyssa said while wiping away her tears.
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Shelby said, 'I know that you put a lot of your own time and money into this, and I can't stop looking at the pictures because they're so beautiful, and the molds. And it means so much to me, and I just wanted to make sure that you know that it's more than just a gift. It's a forever thing.'
'It is. Well, thank you. I appreciate it,' Alyssa said.
'Look at the size difference. He was so tiny,' the mothers said as they compared their babies' molds.
Two mothers —with one shared journey to healing.
'It means an insane amount to me and my family,' Shelby said again.
'You're very welcome,' Alyssa said smiling.
Pay it 4Ward is sponsored by First Fidelity Bank.Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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