God can work in mysterious ways. It’s not easy to know his plan, but once in a while something comes along that just shows you how a miracle can be right beside you.
Even if it took 22 years to arrive.
For 23-year-old Tyler West, it all began with a photo of his mom.
West had just gotten engaged to his now-wife, Kelsey West, 22, when he stumbled across the picture. He was looking through Kelsey’s baby book, when he noticed a familiar face.
His mom, a registered nurse, just so happened to be the one who helped deliver Kelsey.
Tyler West and Kelsey Poll at a bank inside a grocery store in Utah. Kelsey was working there, and they realized they were both students at Weber State University. After Tyler finished his shopping, he came back and asked for her number. The rest was history.
Mary Ann West takes a footprint of her future (though unknown at the time) daughter-in-law. Photo courtesy of Stacy Poll
There were some hints, though, that there might be a connection. At a dinner with both sets of the couple’s parents, his mom, Mary Ann West, though she recognized Kelsey’s mom, Stacy Poll.
I’m like, ‘Where do I know her from?’” Mary Ann said. “I couldn’t quite put my finger on it,” she said.
Then that fateful day, it was the baby book that solved it. The couple had been looking for pictures to show at their wedding, when Tyler said the photo of a nurse foot printing the newly-born Kelsey and said, “That is my mom!”
Stacy said Mary Ann was the only nurse she had a picture of, out of all 5 of her children’s births. She had a left an impression on Stacy.
“My heart dropped with excitement,” Stacy said. “It made so much sense.”
She said Kelsey’s birth had come when she already had two children under the age of 3 at home. Stacy said she was terrified to have a third child at the time.
Stacy Poll with her daughter, Kelsey.
Kelsey West and her new mother-in-law, Mary Ann West.
But Mary Ann helped her through the fears. She told Stacy that she knew how she felt, having just had her third baby, as well.
“You’ve got this,” Mary Ann said, while holding her hand.
She calmed my soul,” Stacy said.
The best part was all of this first meeting was caught on video. In it, Mary Ann can be heard talking to Stacy, telling her about her son Tyler. Mary Ann was also the first to welcome Kelsey to the world, saying, ‘Hello, baby.’
Immediately, Stacy ran to call Mary Ann, telling her she knew why they had both felt that connection.
“I completely remembered that delivery — even though I’ve delivered thousands of babies over almost 30 years — but I remember her delivery,” Mary Ann said. “That was really special. It just made me love Kelsey and Stacy even more, and [I’m] just thrilled to have them part of our family.”
The couple got married on May 25. “She really is another mom,” Kelsey says.
Stacy and Mary Ann have spent every minute since, catching up on each others’ lives and enjoying this chance at friendship and family.
“If we weren’t sisters in life, this definitely brought us closer — we’ll be moms,” Stacy says. “She should have been my sister, but instead we were blessed to be mothers together.”
Watch below as the two reunited moms talk about their chance reunion and the family’s future.
