Katie Brinton was the nurse for my sister-in-law on multiple days during her stay at Magee. This was a very scary, stressful, unexpected visit as her water broke at only 22 weeks pregnant. It became necessary to induce her early because of an infection. During this time, they spoke with many doctors from different departments and due to the changing of the shifts, the communication from the doctors to my brother and sister-in-law went through a major change and was not in alignment with their pro-life philosophy.
Katie saw that it was just a breakdown in communication and assisted in getting all the people in the room together to talk through things and gain understanding on both sides. Often you can feel like it's you against the doctors, and that the nurses just fly in and out of the rooms, but Katie showed genuine care, concern, and respect for the patient and her wishes. She went the extra mile to coordinate the chain of communication. Due to this, they gave birth to a living vibrant baby boy.
Though his stay on this earth was very short we are forever grateful for the time we had with him and we don't think it would have been possible without Katie's help. She also recommended a Dula, which turned out to be the second biggest blessing, as due to allergies and circumstances my sister-in-law could not be given an epidural. Additionally, I witnessed Katie give a very thorough handoff to the next shift nurse, going above and beyond the general data transfer. I told her she deserves ten gold stars. We will never forget her extreme kindness in this difficult time!
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I arrived at the Magee Women's Hospital via the Emergency Room with my husband. It was a severe case of broken water during my 22nd week of pregnancy. That situation scared me a lot, I had to fly to Russia early Saturday morning, and obviously, I wouldn't survive through that flight. I met Katie on Saturday, she was my nurse and she was exceptionally attentive and supportive. When things and the symptoms went very bad, she helped us a lot. She suggested I invite a doula to help me and it was one of the best decisions I could take. She advocated for us a lot when we had to stand our ground for our son's life according to our ethical principles. And that assistance was so much appreciated. She stayed with me and my husband during the delivery and helped to sort out a lot of things. I've never experienced such a true, genuine, dedication to a job like Katie has! Katie is an amazing nurse.