I was one of your patients on Wednesday night. I originally came in for an induction and everything was going as planned until my water broke unexpectedly. My nurse Jen cleaned me up as best she could considering how much fluid I was releasing. She prepped the antibiotic and Pitocin bag attaching them both to my IV. When she was done she came back and cleaned me up again with my sister. Jen put a pillow under my back and suddenly we lost the baby's heartbeat. She readjusted and the rate came up to 78 bpm. As the rest of the team ran into the room Jen was already checking me and said, “cord”. Even through the whirlwind of activity going on around us, Jen stayed calm and in the moment.
Since she was holding my son's head off the cord Jen had to stay on my bed. At one point I recall her holding my hand at the same time. She held my son and me in her warm confident hands and that brings me to tears every single time. I was scared, in pain, and thought I would die but as I prayed, asking God to spare my son and strengthen my husband, Jen held my hand. That’s one of the last memories I have before I woke up in PACU. There I was delirious with AMS but I recall seeing my husband and sister, then again those warm hands reached out to me. I don’t know what time Jen is supposed to clock out but I’m sure this was probably past her normal hours. She even came back the next day to see how I was doing and I must admit, I reached for her hands again.
Jen doesn’t know I’m a nurse leader, I just happened to tell her my sister and I are nurses when she had to clean me up. I told her so she could count on us helping her out when my water broke. Even though I only knew her for a few hours, Jen has changed my life forever. She exemplifies all our service standards and went above and beyond for my family and me. There aren’t words that could possibly thank her enough for all she did. I feel the least I can do to thank her is nominate her for a well-deserved award. Your entire team deserves an award, to be honest. It took 12 minutes from her feeling the cord to when the baby was surgically removed. I’ve never heard of this and I’m truly impressed. Even though they were rushing around me and sped me down the hall to OR, they were methodical and quick. The OR team was amazing even though I was beyond hysterical by then. They may have a separate manager but I extend my gratitude to them as well.
I apologize for the long email but I just had to reach out! We’re hopefully being discharged today and can’t wait to be home. But your team, especially Jen, will forever stay in my heart.