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Charleston major recognized as 'Mom of the Year'

  • Published
CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --   April 11, 2004, is a day Maj. Trisha Vorachek and her husband, Bill, will never forget.

The day before, Major Vorachek, the 437th Medical Group Health Promotion Flight commander, was admitted to Trident Medical Center for a scheduled induced labor, and after 19 hours, the Voracheks thought they were welcoming their new daughter, Bailey Ann, into the world. However, Bailey was born without a pulse and was not breathing.

Nurses and doctors worked to revive her. After several minutes, nurses had to place a chest tube into the newborn because her lung had collapsed. Bailey then suffered from a seizure caused by lack of oxygen. She was transported to an intensive care unit across town.

Nine hours after delivering Bailey, Major Voracheck was discharged with her daughter still in the ICU. Despite emotional and physical pain, Major Voracheck spent seven days traveling back and forth from her home to the hospital to visit her daughter.

Bailey is now a 10-month-old healthy baby and the Voracheks couldnt be happier with their new gift.

Recently, the Voracheks had another reason to celebrate when Major Vorachek was recognized as The First Years New Mom of the Year.

The First Years company produces feeding, sleeping, bathing, diapering and transporting/travel products for a babys first three years.

The prize was one year of free house cleaning.

Major Voracheks husband said he learned about the contest through the Internet. He started the process by submitting an essay describing why his wife deserved to be recognized.

I decided to submit her for the contest because with all the complications the baby had at birth, Trisha missed out on traditional child birth. I realize nothing can replace the experience she has lost, but I wanted to do something to make up for it, said Mr. Vorachek.

After all of the initial entries were looked at, First Years chose 10 finalists. The winner was chosen based on her answers to five questions. Once the finalists submissions were reviewed, Major Vorachek was named the winner.

Trisha Vorachek was selected as The First Years New Mom Award winner from over 4,000 entries, said Maureen OBrien, Ph.D., director of parenting and child development for The First Years. From the day she gave birth, Trisha has demonstrated qualities of an outstanding new mother. She was there for her daughter through a very difficult first week of life and is dedicated to supporting her family as a working mom in the military. We hope the prize of a year of house cleaning will help Trisha and her husband put their time and energy into what matters most to them.

Now I will have more free time to just hug, kiss and hold [Bailey]. A child can never get too much love, said Major Vorachek. Shes growing up so fast and I just cannot seem to get enough time to hold her close to my chest, smell her sweet baby smell and tell her how much I love her.

Before Bailey was born, the Voracheks decided one of them should stay home with the baby while the other worked. With the benefits of the Air Force, they decided it was better for Mr. Vorachek, who worked as a general manager and district safety director for a local services company, to stay at home with Bailey.

The benefits of the Air Force are phenomenal, so we decided I would be the one to give up my job," he said. "We wanted to have one of us to stay home with Bailey at all times."

Major Vorachek is an Alexandria, Minn., native and joined the Air Force in 1992. She has been working in health promotions for the last five years, and holds a bachelor of science in food nutrition and biology and a masters degree in public health with an emphasis in health promotions.

It has always been a challenge of constantly striving to do a good job with work and being a mom, said the registered dietician. But, my life is my family, my husband and my child. I love being a mom, but, I also love what I do for the Air Force and enjoy being around the people I work with.

Bailey is now at home learning how to walk and talk and the Voracheks are thankful for her health and the opportunity to spend more time together.

Im lucky to be married to such a wonderful man. However, he is not the best cleaner. As my husband says, theres Bills clean and Trishas definition of clean, said Major Vorachek. Having the house cleaning service will help in decreasing my overall stress and allow me to just relax and enjoy my time with my family.

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