We were lucky enough to have Katherine the night our son was born. This was our first pregnancy, and we were unsure and nervous. After an elective induction, my wife's labor progression was slow. After almost 48 hours, her contractions were becoming painful and we were nearing the delivery phase. Katherine was incredibly attentive and proactive in keeping her comfortable. She has an amazing ability to juggle the "simple things'', like changing my wife's pads and adjusting her pillows, while simultaneously monitoring the complicated, such as the baby's vitals, changing IVs, and briefing the doctors. She was always reassuring and so friendly but also exuded confidence and a clear, innate knowledge of the relevant medical needs. We never doubted for an instant that we were in the best of hands.
Unfortunately, when it finally came time to push, our son was not cooperating! Katherine calmly reassured us and minimized any "drama", while asking the on-call attending to be paged. It was quickly determined that an unplanned C-section was indeed necessary. As a very nervous and tired father, I was also very concerned with attending the procedure. I do not tolerate "blood and guts" well at all, and in the moment the thought of witnessing a major surgery was so nerve-wracking. Katherine somehow was able to calmly talk me down while also focusing on preparing my wife for the operation. She never once showed undue concern for the situation and made us feel like this was a routine scenario (which it is). In the OR, she "switched gears'' and I overheard her professionalism while conducting the pre-op "briefing". This was time to focus on Mom, and it was clear she was ready to go.
Afterward, she helped us through the immediate recovery, making sure we were comfortable with our baby and that my wife was starting the healing process. Even though it was now early morning, and we had been with her since that evening, Katherine never showed any signs of slowing down and was just excited to be with us at the moment of birth! She was even able to make some good newborn jokes in the recovery room to help a nervous dad relax. One of my favorite parts was how adeptly she rang the desk and had them "hit the chimes'' as she pushed my wife's bed through the hallway to our next room. Nice touch!
All of the St. Joe's staff was simply amazing and made us feel welcome and safe. But, truly, Katherine is the best of the best, and we could NOT have done this without her. THANK YOU!