I was scheduled to be induced at MMC due to IUGR at 37 weeks. This was my first child and my husband and I were very excited, albeit nervous and scared. Nurse Kasey Myles was my intake nurse at labor and delivery that morning. She read through my birth plan, and helped me get a better understanding of what exactly the process at MMC would look like. Due to Covid, all of our childbirth classes and the tour of the facility were online, so being in the room in person was definitely a bit nerve-wracking as we had no idea what to expect, especially as first-time parents. I told Kasey that I was extremely needle-phobic, so she helped distract me during my IV insertion and bloodwork. I had told her I was going to want an epidural, so she let me pre-consent with anesthesia and promised me she would tell me before "it was too late" to get the epidural.

I was induced with a cook balloon and contractions started right away. Kasey was there immediately when I called for her when I felt nauseated and began having back pain. She suggested getting into the bath to help with the pain, and I seriously could have lived in that tub all night. She came in every half hour or so to refill the tub with warm water. During this time, we asked her how she got into nursing. (I was in a lot of pain at this time so I will paraphrase what I explicitly remember). She told us she worked in oncology and as a traveling nurse before becoming an L&D nurse, and one thing Kasey said that stuck with me is "end of life care is very similar to beginning of life care". And she was absolutely right! I consider myself a modest person, and once labor started I was a little embarrassed to be unclothed in front of another person. L&D nurses see people at their most vulnerable, and they don't judge, they simply help make you comfortable. And that's exactly what Kasey did.

My first day in the hospital was mostly breathing through contractions and waiting for my cervix to get to 10cm. Kasey's shift ended around 7 pm, but the next day she was my nurse again. And after a sleepless night and a bit of pain, it was really great seeing a familiar face. At one point during my active labor, Kasey said she felt I had the mental strength to do this unmedicated if I wanted to. Which was the greatest compliment I could have received from someone in the medical field. A little while later I was having a lot of pain, but wanted to hold out on the epidural so she suggested nubain, which during all my childbirth classes, I had never even heard of. This seriously helped. I thought at this moment my only two options were epidural or pain. I'm grateful she gave me a third option.

Around this time, I was in bed, changing up positions to get comfortable. My baby's heart rate would drop every so often, and she would quickly (and calmly) help me move to help get his rate back in range. At one point (I don't remember when), my baby was not doing well due to the Pitocin I was receiving. She stopped it immediately and advocated for me and my baby when the OB in charge that day wanted it to restart. I was a scared new mom, who was in pain and on lots of medication, and Kasey made sure that both I and my son were safe. When I decided it was time to get my epidural, I was really nervous and started to panic. I had asked my husband to distract me, but he couldn't think of anything to say at the moment. But Kasey did. She helped hold me steady and talked to me about her dogs and her tattoos. I didn't even feel the needle go into my back.

When it was time to push, Kasey was there the whole time. At one point, I had a moment of panic and said "I can't do this". Kasey made sure that I knew that I could. After a quick pep-talk from her, I was able to go back to pushing. Around 7 pm, a new nurse came in to take over for her since it was the end of her shift. Instead of clocking out on time, Kasey stayed. She said "I'm not going to miss his birthday!" And she didn't. My son was born at 7:37 pm at 4lbs 10oz. I have his "celebration of birth" certificate hanging in my office. Every time I look at it and see Kasey Myles' name, I get a little teary-eyed. She made the whole "giving birth" experience, dare I say, enjoyable. I know a two-day labor/induction might not seem like a huge deal to some. But for me, it was really scary. But having Kasey Myles as my nurse for those two days (and her not even batting an eye about staying late) really showed me how dedicated she was to me and my son. For that, I will be forever grateful. The entire Labor & Delivery staff at MMC were great, but Kasey went above and beyond.