Having had newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Paul and Martha Sharkey knew they could ease anxiety for other parents in the same situation. Matteo Iadonisi, 6abc, covered the couple’s resulting preemie-centric nonprofit, Today Is a Good Day.

The Sharkeys, Wyndmoor residents, welcomed their identical-twin girls, born 17 weeks early in 2011. Both babies, Claire and Mary, were immediately admitted to the NICU at Jefferson Abington Hospital.

Two weeks later, Mary succumbed to her frailty.

Claire, however, improved, albeit slowly. As a three-month old, she was finally okayed to go home.

Once on their own, Paul and Martha felt somewhat isolated.

“We reflected back on our extended journey and saw some gaps in care,” said Martha. “And we wanted to figure out how we could give back how we could support other families, so they didn’t feel as alone as we did.”

That idea became Today Is a Good Day, a Flourtown outreach named for a phrase they heard often as Claire inched toward better health.

Since its inception, Today Is a Good Day has provided both funding and items (10,000 care packages) to others.

One care-package recipient said it “made me feel like I wasn’t … alone.”

More on the Sharkey family — including a third daughter since born full term — is at 6abc.

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No parent ever expects to be a Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) parent.