Karin Wimer
December 2021
Karin
Wimer
,
RN
Labor and Delivery Unit
PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend
Springfield
,
OR
United States
Perhaps some of what Karin did is standard practice but it all felt exceptional to us.
Grab a chair and a cup of coffee because the list of exceptional things Karin did for us is long. She took over at some point on our 3rd day of the induction. My wife L had been contracting almost non-stop that entire time with very few breaks. Karin worked with our doctor, me, and our Doula to support L's desire to have a vaginal, unmedicated birth. She was attentive and compassionate. When it became clear that L's labor wasn't going to conclude by the end of her shift at 3:30, she requested she be allowed to stay longer so that she could see us through to the end. This required making special arrangements to have her children picked up. Putting her clients ahead of her family was an incredible gesture but that was just the beginning.
L had a traumatic epidural placement that didn't bring her any relief. Karin worked with the anesthesiologist to get that resolved. Sadly, nothing they could do helped. After about 48 hours of pain without progress, L and her medical team decided she needed to be done to have a C-section. Karin saw this all unfolding and slipped out the door to run interference. She alerted our OB-GYN and generally ran interference for us to try to stay ahead of the problem. Thanks in no small part to Karin’s help we were able to work through that snafu pretty quickly and get the spinal shot that L wanted. While L was being prepped for her C-Section, Karin was a comforting presence at her side. When our son was born, she followed me into the NICU station to reassure me, then led us back to L to get skin to skin. She stayed with us late into the night and helped us learn how to feed and care for our baby.
Perhaps some of what Karin did is standard practice but it all felt exceptional to us. She was exactly the fierce but calm ally we needed, and we could not be more grateful for her service. I have been lucky to have great care at Riverbend through multiple health problems of my own. Almost without exception, my nurses have been somewhere between competent and wonderful. Karin will always stand out in my memory as one of the finest.
L had a traumatic epidural placement that didn't bring her any relief. Karin worked with the anesthesiologist to get that resolved. Sadly, nothing they could do helped. After about 48 hours of pain without progress, L and her medical team decided she needed to be done to have a C-section. Karin saw this all unfolding and slipped out the door to run interference. She alerted our OB-GYN and generally ran interference for us to try to stay ahead of the problem. Thanks in no small part to Karin’s help we were able to work through that snafu pretty quickly and get the spinal shot that L wanted. While L was being prepped for her C-Section, Karin was a comforting presence at her side. When our son was born, she followed me into the NICU station to reassure me, then led us back to L to get skin to skin. She stayed with us late into the night and helped us learn how to feed and care for our baby.
Perhaps some of what Karin did is standard practice but it all felt exceptional to us. She was exactly the fierce but calm ally we needed, and we could not be more grateful for her service. I have been lucky to have great care at Riverbend through multiple health problems of my own. Almost without exception, my nurses have been somewhere between competent and wonderful. Karin will always stand out in my memory as one of the finest.