Chow not only demonstrated a caring attitude but also listened to us with the biggest heart. I was admitted to L&D for a scheduled induction. Our baby, T was previously diagnosed with Anencephaly, and needless to say, our experience was not going to be easy for us. Chow was our day shift nurse. Chow presented herself with such a caring and nurturing demeanor and was so sweet in her care of me during the beginning of my labor. Chow asked very early during her shift about our wishes for T should he be born during her shift. She always referred to T by his name and helped to ensure everything was set up to anticipate his arrival, such as special hats that were made especially for him, and items we brought to obtain our baby's hand and footprints. Chow wanted to be sure that all our wishes for T were being met.
Although we were only with Chow for one shift, the care and compassion she showed us will last our lifetime. We talked with Chow about the experience we had with our son leading up to that point and shared stories about our children, because of the close monitoring I was under for our son's organ donation, Chow remained with us in our room for a majority of her shift.
At one point my labor began to move along a bit and one of the doctors came in to discuss breaking my water. It was during that conversation that we were told that because of our son's breech position that should the water be broken and the umbilical cord slip out our son could pass quickly. I was instantly upset and not ready to lose my son and rush my labor. Chow, being in tune with our needs, spoke up in that moment as I cried and advocated for us. She let us know we had time to make that decision, we didn't need to rush. Because I myself am a nurse I know it's a difficult place at times to speak up but if ever there was a time to be focused and meet a patient's needs- that was it.
After we asked for time, Chow gave us a moment, and when she returned we told Chow just how much what she had done meant to us. We knew we were going to lose our baby, we just wanted to give him a fighting chance to survive birth and possibly any moments of life he could have. As nurses we are often trained to not let emotion get us at the moment, to step away collect ourselves, and then get back to work. I let Chow know that it's ok to cry with us- we are only human. I can't imagine how hard it must have been to be in Chow's shoes that day, working in a unit that is filled with love and new life, only to be a part of our story that was filled with love and goodbyes. Chow deserves all the recognition in the world for her care of us and our sweet T. Thank you, Chow, we will never forget you.