I was 3cm dilated, 95% effaced and having contractions, my baby was transverse, and I was still on my Lovenox shots so it was not an ideal scenario. When I went into triage Courtney Luedtke was my charge nurse. She was immediately honest and straight forward about all of the challenges we were facing while still reassuring me that they had a great team and they were all going to come up with the best plan possible. I went in about 11:45, they gave me IV fluids and decided the best course of action would be to try to slow down my labor enough to get me until 8:30 pm when it would be 24 hours since my last dose. In the meantime, the team ordered my blood type to be kept on hold, they had an anesthesiologist standing by and an OR prepped.
Within a couple of hours, it became clear that my labor was progressing and not slowing down. I quickly dilated to a 5 and my contractions went to 2 minutes apart. Then they decided they would try to turn him now and then, break my water to get him into my pelvis. They successfully turned him and wheeled me back to a labor room, but by the time we got back there he had shifted to the oblique position. They decided to turn him again where they wanted, they broke my bag of waters. Immediately my baby flipped to transverse and his cord and arm came out of my cervix. Without a second of hesitation, Courtney jumped in and decompressed my baby's cord and held him in there until we could get back to the OR.
I have never experienced fear like that in my life. It was one of the most terrifying experiences a mother can face. At first, all I could do was scream in pain, but Courtney kept eye contact with me the whole ride to the OR. She told me to take deep breaths to get as much oxygen as I could to my baby and reassured me that I was in great hands and that they were going to do everything they could to get me and my baby out of this safely. She calmed me down enough so that I could manage to mutter "Lord please let him be ok" over and over and over, it was all I could do to bring me peace and keep me sane.
Once we were in the OR they placed me under general anesthesia and the team was able to get Baby J out of there safe, he was born at 3:49 that afternoon. Once they were in there, they found that I had a uterine fibroid about the size of a baseball and that's what was preventing J's head from descending into the pelvis and it was starting to tear off. I hemorrhaged because of it and lost about 2 liters of blood. When I woke up, Courtney was there telling me everything that happened and what to expect.
I am so grateful to them for the exceptional care they provided, the peace and reassurance they gave me in a terrifying time and for saving both me and my baby. The entire team at Mercy Gilbert was just absolutely incredible from the moment I walked in, to the moment we walked out, but above and beyond, I will always be eternally grateful for Courtney because without her quick action I don't know if baby J would have made it.
Note: This is Courtney's 2nd DAISY Award!