Central Arkansas family shares their UAMS NICU journey as hospital celebrates NICU Awareness through a Read-A-Thon

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences celebrated NICU Awareness through a Read-A-Thon Parade Monday, and alongside the nurses and doctors was one family that helped donate all the books in honor of their son Oliver.

Oliver was born at 28 weeks and spent 83 days in the UAMS Neonatal Intensive Care Unit before getting to come home.

“When you have a premature baby it’s very scary,” Oliver’s mom Chelsea Verdier said.

Chelsea and Chris Verdier could not hold their son for the first two-and-a-half weeks of his life because he was in intensive care.

However, when they were finally able, all they wanted to do was build a connection.

Doctors recommended things to help with the physical connection, such as skin-to-skin and cradling, and help little Oliver develop an emotional bond.

“We want to do everything medically to take care of those children, and part of that medical care is not just feeding and nutrition and respiratory management, it’s the developmental care that we provide,” UAMS Medical Director of NICU Sara Peeples said.

That’s when doctors recommended reading children’s books to promote bonding, comfort, language development, literacy, and stress reduction because language is also nutrition.

“We would take turns sitting next to his isolette and read to him, and it just became a habit for us,” Chelsea Verdier said.

They brought in books from home, borrowed them from nurses, and even from the NICU library cabinet, trying to help Oliver succeed in every area of his life.

“I think it really bonded us as a family,” Chris Verdier said.

“To walk out together with your baby, I mean that’s a huge milestone,” Chris Verdier said.

They wanted to give back to UAMS NICU, who began as strangers but now were like family.

That is when they decided to honor Oliver by donating books.

Over the past three years, Oliver and his family have donated nearly 800 books to the UAMS NICU.

Today was a full circle moment as they were able to walk in the UAMS Read-A-Thon event, taking these books room by room and seeing the faces and emotions new NICU parents and babies are dealing with.

“We were those two parents in the room with our baby so it’s nice to be on the other side of that and to encourage parents,” Chelsea Verdier said.

According to Chris, doctors said Oliver would face challenges as he grew older, but so far, he has overcome each and every one.

His parents call him a bright light of sunshine, and they say it’s all due to their passion for reading to him.

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