Gloria was the labor and delivery nurse on the 7am-7pm shift. When Gloria came on shift, I was fully dilated and ready to start pushing but I was on hold due to the Doctor being in an emergency with another patient. Gloria was an angel from the moment we met her. She shared with me that once the Doctor was done with the emergency, I would have to wait for the next Doctor to come on shift from my practice, or I could request another attending physician. When I told Gloria I preferred to wait she completely respected my wishes and advocated for me. When she told me the doctor's name, I welled with tears because he was the doctor who helped my husband and I through a previous miscarriage. When we told Gloria this story, she held my hand and gently told me how special it would be for him to deliver our baby. Her voice, her presence, her kindness, empathetic nature, and warmth make her stand out beyond any nurse I have ever met or received care from.

At the start of her shift, my husband shared with Gloria that I had not done any research on labor and delivery, what was going to happen, or how it would work. Gloria was beyond kind throughout the entire process; she cheered me on when it was time to start pushing again, took pictures of our daughter’s birth that we will treasure forever, and captured our first family photo. As if this was not enough, after our daughter was born and cleaned off, Gloria told us that it would be a little while before I could go up into a recovery room because nothing was available. A few hours had passed and there were still no rooms ready, Gloria heard me on the phone with my mom and dad, they had been waiting in the waiting area for a few hours and did not know the gender of our baby because we wanted to see their reaction in person. Gloria went to get my parents in the waiting room and allowed us to introduce our daughter to them while we waited for the recovery room, she helped us coordinate their arrival into the room and ensured we were able to get the most precious video of my parents meeting and learning they had their first granddaughter. Gloria also helped ensure we received lunch and drinks, and she did everything in her power to make sure we felt comfortable while we waited for our recovery room. Gloria’s role in the delivery of our daughter will forever be etched in our hearts, and we are forever thankful for her care and compassion.