April 2023
Breanna
Graffeo
,
BSN. RN
Labor & Delivery
Advocate Christ Medical Center
Oak Lawn
,
IL
United States
Bre was incredibly genuine, putting me at ease and feeling comfortable.
I delivered a baby on February 22, 2023. I had been meaning to reach out but adjusting to life with two kids has been a journey. As a little background, I had a very poor experience delivering my firstborn at a different Hospital, primarily due to the L&D nurses. My husband and I also suffered a second-trimester loss last year, so this pregnancy had been stressful and scary. The second I came through the doors, everyone was wonderful. A nurse named Christina in the triage area was incredibly kind, thorough, and comforting. Linda, Karen, Pearlie, and Marlin in Recovery were great, as well. The nurse, however, who has truly touched my heart that I continue to think about two months later is Bre. I would love to nominate her for a DAISY Award for going above and beyond with her patient care and stellar bedside manner/advocacy skills. I was receiving an epidural from an anesthesiologist (who was perfectly kind) shortly before his shift ended and it was not going well. I was experiencing a lot of pain and was sweating and feeling light-headed after what felt like an eternity of his attempts to effectively administer the medication. Bre had asked me if I wanted to take a break, which I didn’t know was an option or what that would look like. She assured me we could take a break and mentioned that another doctor would be coming on shift any minute and could then try to secure the epidural instead. I could tell in her eyes that she felt like it was the best clinical choice at that time. I had liked her plan and said I wanted a break; however the doctor was trying to encourage me to keep going and that he “almost had it,” he said. I was feeling increasing pain and as if I was going to pass out, which I verbalized and Bre advocated for me and reiterated to the doctor that I wanted to stop, citing the reasons why he should and very nicely and professionally discussed the incoming doctor being able to take over. After he had left the room, she reassured me it was nothing that I had done and was extremely comforting when describing how skilled the incoming anesthesiologist was, being that I was now afraid of ongoing spinal pain and the subsequent delivery. Bre was incredibly genuine, putting me at ease and feeling comfortable. The next anesthesiologist came in and had the epidural placed.