To start, I need to give a little backstory on what was going on when Angela came into the picture. Throughout my pregnancy, I had done a lot of looking into natural childbirth without an epidural. What I really dreamed of was a calm, quiet birth space where I could walk around or get in the shower during labor and just let my body do what it was supposed to do to work out this baby. At 39 weeks pregnant, I became severely preeclamptic and with that, all my dreams went out the door. However, from the moment the second line appears, it is no longer about you and instead about the life growing inside you, and this situation was no different. You do whatever it takes to keep your baby safe.

Unfortunately, my doctor's office admitted me directly to OB. They started me on magnesium and blood pressure medicine ASAP, later inducing me when my numbers were more under control. Angela came on board at 7 pm on Monday and was with me through the thick of my labor. My body was on fire from the magnesium and I had to stay in bed. My baby was so low in my pelvis that they had to push his head up every couple of hours to let my bladder drain through my catheter. It seemed like I was being stuck with needles left and right (PS - I am not a fan of needles). Yet, Angela was this calming presence through this storm. She was warm and friendly, reassuring me every time I asked if I could do this. She responded, "You absolutely can do this!" Throughout that night, I was very in and out mentally so I do not recall every little detail.

Nevertheless, I remember thinking over and over that not every nurse is like this. Not everyone is this understanding. Not everyone is this compassionate. You have people that do their job for the paycheck, and then you have the people who truly care about what they do. Because I was stuck in the bed, I was a stage 5 clinger in terms of neediness, annoying even myself at how much I had to rely on Angela and my husband. Angela was off the clock at 7 am and my baby was born at 10:37 am so she barely missed it. My story and our time with Angela did not stop there though because I was in the hospital for almost a week total. The next evening, Angela came by when she had a free moment to check in with us (we were not her assigned room) so she could see our baby and check in with me to see how I was doing. She checked in with us several times over the next few days. I was struggling a lot with breastfeeding and she even took the time to help me with that too.

On one of our last nights there, my husband and I were so relieved to find out Angela was our overnight nurse again. Honestly, there was nothing wrong with any of the other nurses we had throughout our stay - I could say good things about each one, however, knowing Angela was our nurse for the night was like being able to exhale a breath we did not know we had been holding in. (The more I reread my words that sentence sums this up better than anything does.) Anyway, by that point in our stay, I was able to get up and walk around so my level of neediness was definitely lower. We were the only people on the floor that night. At one point, Angela came in and just spent about ten or fifteen minutes talking to us, laughing and joking. I have no idea if that is "allowed" but in terms of care, it is what we (especially I) needed after being stuck in a hospital room for six days. Someone who was not our parents to talk to about regular stuff.

There is so much more that I cannot even begin to explain. However, when someone told us about the DAISY Award, my husband and I immediately both said "Angela." When I look back on the experience I had, Angela and her level of care, compassion, and friendliness made what could or should have been a very ugly experience for me (ugh, mag) into a positive one, and for that, I will be forever grateful. I am sure she provides this level of care to every expectant mom, and she probably has no idea the impact she made on our stay.