Courtney Schultz
November 2023
Courtney
Schultz
,
RN, BSN
Duke University Hospital
Duke University Health System
Durham
,
NC
United States

 

 

 

Courtney heard me crying and looked back at me. Without a moment's hesitation, she walked to me, and I put my arms around her and laid my head against her shoulder. She put her arm around me and offered me such ‘Blessed Assurance’ that it was going to be all right.
My daughter is currently a patient on the 5700 floor. She is seven months pregnant with twins and is dealing with pre-eclampsia. Our family had a lot to take in and process. So much information came to us from several different people in a short amount of time. Plans for her care, and immediate future, were set in place. As you might imagine, our lives changed so much that day! However, we did the best we could and made it through that first night. The second day we experienced our first real scare. I am writing this to tell you about the nurses that tended to my daughter. M and Courtney. Oh my goodness…there aren’t enough good words or adequate praises to convey to you the extraordinary job they did that day. As a mother, I saw a full crisis! As medical professionals, they saw a situation that needed tending to! Please allow me to explain.

My daughter's blood pressure (BP) spiked and went to a dangerously high level. They had urgently and with deliberate intensity worked to place the baby monitors on her along with the BP cuff. The monitors were tight as was the cuff. That all was adding to the distress. M was there, and she was wonderful! She was professional, attentive, compassionate, and thorough.  Courtney soon joined her, and together, they tended to the need at hand. They were extraordinary. Their manner, their proficiency, their calmness in the midst of all that was happening and needing to be taken care of, the communication between the two of them, their attitude…everything about them was excellent! They did their job so well. It was clearly more than just a job to them. There was so much that needed to be done in a short amount of time. Every step was important, and it was done with preciseness and total focus of how it was proceeding.  All the while they were preparing, if needed, for the next step. They were never distracted. Their entire focus was my daughter, her BP readings,  and preparing to help with the next steps if necessary.   There was so much medicine given through her IV, it became hard for her to breathe. Her breathing was labored and she struggled to get her breath.  I got so upset and tears came. Regardless of the fact that she is a married lady and soon-to-be a mother, she is still my child. I was standing at the foot of her bed and I couldn’t help it any longer. Courtney and Mary were working diligently around my daughter and the monitors. Courtney heard me crying and looked back at me. Without a moment's hesitation, she walked to me, and I put my arms around her and laid my head against her shoulder. She put her arm around me and offered me such ‘Blessed Assurance’ that it was going to be all right. As she stood there with me, she and Mary continued to attend to my daughter's needs and the situation at hand. I asked many questions in the midst of all the flurry of activity that was happening. They answered me with kindness, understanding, tremendous patience, great respect, and expert knowledge.  They never made me feel as though I was a bother, an intrusion, or a distraction.

After several intense hours, my daughter was stable and out of danger. I thanked them over and over all through the night…while they were working so hard for her and after it was over. They smiled and nodded at me as they left the room. I hope they know the true depth of my gratitude.  As a mother, their efforts for my daughter's safety and well-being meant everything! They treated her with such gentleness, kindness, and utter respect! If I wrote five hundred pages, there would not be adequate words to express my gratitude to them for all they did, and how they did it, that night.

As our stay continues, we have been abundantly blessed to have many nurses! They, too, have helped us through several ups and downs! Their support is so very comforting and their care is unsurpassed. The smiles they greet us with, their patience as I ask unending questions and the clarity and completeness of their answers,  their kindness and respect are but a few of the reasons why they are such extraordinary and exceptional people. Their passion for their profession is so very evident. I am confident that my daughter is receiving the best care possible! I am equally grateful for the manner in which she is receiving that care. We feel extraordinarily blessed to be here at DBC. Thank you so very much for your time to read this and for allowing me the opportunity to express to you my experiences with such outstanding nurses! I don’t know where my daughter would be, if it was not for their wonderful care and outstanding ability. We look forward, with great anticipation and hearts full of hope, to the twins' birth.  We know the care they receive will be as wonderful as the care their mother received while she was waiting for them! Many thanks, again, for your time in reading this. May you all be richly blessed as you continue to richly bless those you care for.