I was a 33-year-old mother of 2 girls having my first boy! What was supposed to be one of the most special, memorable times of my life quickly turned into an absolute nightmare that stole the joy right out from under me. Thankfully, I had an angel of a nurse, Ally.

My labor and delivery couldn’t have gone any better! I delivered my healthy baby boy around 4:00 pm, and by 8:00 pm, I had developed pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome. My blood pressure was sky high; meds were being pushed every 30 seconds, doctors/nurses were rushing in and out of my room, it was the scariest experience of my life. I was moved to the ante-natal unit, where I was started on the “drip from hell” (magnesium drip). I was terrified, and I just knew in my mind I was going to die. My blood pressure was at stroke level, my blood work was bad, I was very sick. The only thing that kept me sane was Ally. She answered the thousands of questions I had, most of them were the same questions over and over and she never got frustrated with me and answered them patiently each time, she reassured me that I was in the best place for my condition. I already struggled with anxiety, but this was my tipping point. Ally kept me calm (as calm as she could), made conversation about our kids and school to occupy my mind, never made me feel like I was a burden for constantly asking her if I was going to die, and dealt with my anxiety with so much grace that normally aggravates my own friends and family. When I couldn’t handle the mag drip anymore, she actually listened to me and checked my mag levels, which ended up being too high, so we were able to give me a break from it.

I would have never survived this experience without her. We now keep up with each other on Facebook, and I was actually able to thank her in person a few months after my delivery. I will forever be eternally grateful to her!