This story is one we will remember forever. My fiancée was admitted from Danville to Carle in March with bleeding during pregnancy. She was at Carle for seven weeks. The major concern was a placental abruption that was causing bleeding and posed a threat to hemorrhage. Initially, L received the magnesium drip and was monitored closely for a few days. The baby looked great and the bleeding slowed down so she was moved to floor eleven. Unfortunately the bleeding picked back up and she was moved back to floor ten. After a few more moves to different floors over a week or so, the bleeding had diminished. L got to return home but a mere 48 hours later there was more bleeding and back to Carle, floor ten we went. It was getting hard to keep track of how many times we moved around but we want to note that the overall care was exceptional. The overall culture was very comforting and reassuring that we were in the right place!
A couple times throughout the stay, Ashley was the overnight nurse and took excellent care of L, always making sure she was comfortable and knowledgeable of the care she was receiving. You see, L is also a nurse for the VA and it may or may not have helped her nerves understanding the medical side of her stay, but Ashley was a comfort to L because she could communicate on a level of understanding that reassured L.
I remember the Thursday phone call that L's water had broken and I rushed from work to join her and her mother in the room. The doctors laid out a plan with goals. They restarted the magnesium and it stopped all contractions. The consistent and agreed upon course of action by all doctors and L was not to stop any further signs of labor. However, just before 3 AM on Monday morning there was another sign her water was leaking. We immediately called the nurses in and three nurses including Ashley rushed into the bathroom. Contractions had now started as confirmed by the monitor. L told Ashley that these contractions felt different, more like her first two children's births. Ashley comforted L and agreed to call the delivery doctor on call. After a couple phone calls between Ashley and the on call doctor, Ashley was left to make a tough judgement decision. She decided at this point to call her nurse supervisor and explain the situation. They tried running fluid, but Linda continued to dilate.
We patiently waited for the doctor to come see L as now she said the contractions were more intense and painful. She said she felt like pushing and Ashley calmly suggested that she not push. Ashley had told us that she was pretty new to Carle, hired not even a year previous - directly out of school. We would have never, ever guessed due to her poise, intelligence, and ability to process the situation. She showed uncanny ability to understand her patient, provide situational service, and make judgement calls in stressful situations. We thank God for the angel of Ashley that morning and her heart, brain, and patience.
She checked L again at 5:30 AM and L was now 8 cm dilated. L let out another scary moan of pain and said this felt like childbirth. Ashley hit the "oh shit" button as I refer to it now on the wall. Then, like nothing I have ever seen before, came a well-oiled train of nurses with all the carts and equipment. They came in numbers, they came fast but calm, and they came prepared. Now with the crowd around, we held L's hand, all of us worried about the ultimate concern for hemorrhage. At 5:42 AM, not even three hours into the first signs of labor, our sweet baby crowned. At the very instant that our baby's head began to crown and begin delivery, the doctor walked in the room putting on gloves literally just in time to catch her head.
Thank God for our Angel, Ashley. She saved the day. We will never forget her extraordinary performance. Each birthday of our daughter's will forever be a memory of her quick thinking, use of training, communication with her supervisor, and ability to effectively judge the situation. By all means she should be rewarded, celebrated, and commended. She will forever hold a place in our family's hearts.