My wife J has Cystic Fibrosis, so she has been in and out of hospitals since she was very little. I was the caregiver for my late mother after battling cancer for 5 years before she passed, so I'm no stranger to hospitals either. Something that we have learned throughout dozens of those hospital stays is that it is not the doctors or even the hospital facilities that make or break the experience, but it is the nurses that make the difference.
A great nurse can make an undesirable, uncomfortable, vulnerable, and sometimes really difficult situation into a better, easier, and more manageable situation for the patient and the family.
My wife J and I were definitely in that scenario when her doctor decided to induce her at 39.5 weeks pregnant. With a condition like CF, being induced (was not the plan), away from all family and friends, and during a COVID pandemic, it was the perfect recipe for a very stressful situation for us to say the least. We were faced with some unexpected difficult decisions to make all the while my wife was in a lot of pain and discomfort.
Gaby was our daytime nurse and Kristie our nighttime nurse at Tulane Lakeside Hospital. Since the moment we walked into the hospital room, Gaby heard our situation and our birth plan with a lot of respect and attention. She walked us through what an induction labor typically looks like and explained the options we were given by the doctors in a way we would understand. What made her outstanding and go above and beyond for us is that she talked to us as if my wife was part of her family and not just another patient. She was definitely all-in as part of our team through the entire process. She was very knowledgeable and professional and most importantly, we felt her compassion and empathy for us. This is something we very very rarely have encountered in another hospital.
This is where Kristie comes in. Despite the situation being difficult as it is, we were extremely blessed by having another outstanding and exceptional nurse on the night shift. Kristie also cared deeply for my wife (and later our baby). She listened to our concerns and fears we were having like she was a friend of ours. As exhaustion and stress continued to rise through the night, this was definitely something that made an unmeasurable difference. She was very knowledgeable and talked to us through our options very professionally, but lovingly, through even more difficult decisions we had to make such as my wife having an epidural (again, not planned). Similar to Gaby, we felt we had her on our team.
They both continued to care for us, love us, and support us through a very tough labor. Even after they moved my wife to a postpartum section, Kristie came to check on her and our baby and offered her help in any way.
We will always be eternally grateful for having Gaby and Kristie with us through the delivery of our baby girl.
After reading what The DAISY Award was about, we couldn't think of a more deserving pair than these two amazing, knowledgeable, professional, compassionate, and loving nurses.