Danielle Marsh 2025, RN

My water began to leak at 6 am and had fully broken at 1500. My initial birth plan was to deliver at CHOP due to my son's Tetralogy of Fallot diagnosis. My husband and I live in Lakewood, PA, a 3-hour drive to CHOP. We left and called CHOP to let them know we were on our way. CHOP advised us to go to the nearest hospital so I could be taken down in an ambulance to be safe. We stopped at Moses Taylor labor and delivery in Scranton. We gave the attending physician the number to CHOP, and CHOP told him they were not going to accept us because they were full. For the next 3 hours, I was given medicine to slow the contractions while the physician frantically called other hospitals that could deliver my special baby. By 2100, we heard the greatest news that Milton Hershey was going to accept us, and we arrived around 0100 Thursday morning.

After some sleep, I woke up to nurse Danielle. Immediately, I felt more comfortable. She was kind, compassionate, and informative. As this was my first delivery, she explained the process and my options, and she made me feel confident in my decisions. By 1200 Thursday, I was induced. By 1800, I still hadn't dilated. Her encouragement helped me feel confident about my labor. I've never met such an attentive nurse. 1900 was rapidly approaching, marking the end of her shift. By this time, I had decided to try the Nubian for pain. She made sure that I had what I needed and felt comfortable before she left. 2100, I opted for an epidural. 0000 I still hadn't dilated. 0400, still no dilation. 0600, 5cm, finally. 0700, nurse Danielle came in for her shift. Again, her presence and energy just put me at ease. Explaining everything as she went. We had talked about different options they might use to help the baby be delivered.

Her explanations were clear and presented medically and plainly. She answered all our questions. It was like talking with a friend about delivery rather than a stranger. Danielle did a routine catheter at 1000 and took a ridiculous amount of urine out. By this time, the physicians walked in, waited for Danielle to be done, and checked my cervix. 10! Finally! The room was a buzz! Danielle ran to get a cart and tell the NICU that my baby was coming. At this point, everyone was amazing! Faces I had seen, faces I hadn't seen, and Danielle cheering in my corner. My husband on my right and Danielle (what felt like my best friend) on my left. At 1053 my son was born. Kisses were given, tears were shed, and he was whisked away to be evaluated. I was sad to go to the recovery room. Danielle made me feel so welcome, calm, and relaxed after such an ordeal just to get to this amazing hospital!