Our recent stay at the University of Michigan Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital for the birth of our first child was a truly exceptional one. The care that we received from every member of the hospital staff was astounding and greatly helped my wife get through a difficult delivery.
There was one nurse who particularly stood out and deeply touched us. Elizabeth McKee, RN was an incredible force for hope and steadfast strength for us during the most difficult hours of my wife's labor, and right up to the moment my wife was sent to the OR for a cesarean.
Elizabeth took immediate command of my wife's care when she first arrived in our hospital room that evening. She quickly took stock of items that were needed and ensured these items were always ready at hand for my wife and the doctors. Elizabeth established a regimen that included regular checks on the positioning of the heart monitors for my wife and our baby, stricter limits on time in the bathtub, and all the while ensuring my wife was able to rest as much as possible.
There was a relentless attention to the care and wellbeing of my wife. Our baby was regularly experiencing heartrate decelerations following the contractions, and Elizabeth constantly monitored these very closely. For every deceleration, she immediately took action to fully adjust the position of my wife's body, exerting tremendous strength to carefully yet quickly turn her in bed and adjust the pillows. She would deploy the oxygen mask to my wife within moments. The baby's heart rate always came back to normal shortly after these actions, to the great relief of me and my wife.
While Elizabeth was detail oriented and disciplined in her care, she was also sensitive to the situation we were going through. She constantly comforted my wife when she showed signs of worry. Remarkably, while taking action during the decelerations, Elizabeth always spoke calmly to us with reassuring language that seemed to ease the tension during those awful periods.
The dedication and excellence in service from Elizabeth were unwavering throughout the long night, and under her care we felt safe, despite our exhaustion and the frequent heart decelerations. By morning, my wife had not made sufficient progress dilating and the doctor's deemed it necessary for her to have a cesarean. Shortly after this, we were holding the most precious little bundle of joy that we had ever encountered. Elizabeth's care and strength greatly helped my wife get through a difficult labor, and we are incredibly thankful for all that she did.