Recently, I had an unplanned c-section during a 37-week induction due to a placental abruption. The induction had been ongoing for almost 24 hours when Danielle started her shift. When she came in to introduce herself, the pitocin was being administered, but I was feeling ok due to the epidural. Danielle helped me feel even more comfortable and reassured me that if I needed anything at all, she would be right there. Sure enough, just minutes later, my epidural stopped working. My entire left side went numb, and I could feel all sensation, including the contractions, on my right side. Danielle responded immediately and got anesthesia back in the room to work on fixing the epidural. Meanwhile, Danielle never left my side and worked on adjusting my position to try to make me more comfortable. During this process, I started shaking uncontrollably. While I had no idea what was going on, Danielle knew exactly what was happening and talked me through what my body was doing, I was going through transition. Thankfully, anesthesia was able to fix the epidural but gave me a dose of something stronger than what I had been on, and I couldn’t feel anything from the waist down. Moments later, I was informed that I indeed had been going through transition and now was at 10 cm dilated and ready to push. I became so worried because I couldn’t feel any sensation from the waist down, let alone push. Again, Danielle was right there, encouraging me and telling me that I absolutely could do this.

While I labored and pushed for 2.5 hours, Danielle was there through every contraction, cheering me on and telling me exactly what I needed to do. Unfortunately, labor was not progressing due to the baby’s position, and it was decided that the safest approach for me and baby was to go to a c-section. At this point, I was completely spent and had another horrible case of the baby shakes. As I was prepared for c-section, Danielle talked me through exactly what was going to happen and didn’t leave my side. She was in the OR with me for the entire procedure. I don’t remember as much about this part, as after the baby was born, several complications arose for me, including a uterine tear, chorionitis, and ‘baggy’ uterus that was not shrinking. As a result, it took longer than initially planned to address these issues and stitch me back up. During this time, I was thankful to be taking a ‘nap’ courtesy of anesthesia. When I woke up, Danielle was right there in the OR and the recovery room and explained everything that had happened.

When Danielle introduced herself at the start of her shift the previous evening, none of us imagined that the night and morning would have been this eventful. My husband and I are so incredibly thankful that Danielle was our labor nurse and never left our side, constantly advocating for me to get the most efficient and best care possible. Everything she promised when she started her shift, she executed in spades - she listened to my every feeling, pain, and complaint, went to bat to advocate for me when I needed anything, whether it was a sip of water or an anesthesiologist because of a malfunctioning epidural, and made sure I was well informed about everything that was going on and helped me make the most educated decision possible at each step of my journey.

Danielle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, you went above and beyond, and we will forever remember our experience in a more positive light because of you.