Kathy Rechsteiner
March 2015
Kathy
Rechsteiner
,
RN
NICU
Aurora BayCare Medical Center
Green Bay
,
WI
United States
On October 27 my life changed forever. What started as unexplained abdominal pain turned into an emergency C-section. What was to follow is one of the most painful, frightening, and joyous times of my life. At 6:07 pm, a baby was born; a baby who wasn't breathing. As I lay on the operating table, frantic because I did not hear him cry, I saw the smallest glimpse of my baby boy being whisked away to the NICU. I was admitted to the ICU shortly after and was desperate for someone, anyone, to tell me if my son was alive. From that point on, there is much I don't remember. I can recall being wheeled to the NICU the next day, but cannot remember the first time I held my little Jackson. I did not realize at the time that he would not be coming home with me upon discharge.
Day after day, my husband and I came to the NICU; each time hoping to bring Jackson home, and each day being disappointed, frustrated, and sad when he didn't. My son was considered a "grower/feeder" and needed to be able to eat on his own. I felt completely helpless and that I was in a never ending nightmare. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.
On the last few days that Jackson was in the NICU, his day nurse was Kathy Rechsteiner. Within the first few minutes after we met her, I suddenly felt myself begin to relax. Kathy was kind, encouraging and doted on my son, and it wasn't as if the other nurses did not do the same, but Kathy was the only one who made me feel like I was Jackson's mom. She was so reassuring when my husband and I would feed him or hold him and would say things like, "look at how happy he is with you" and "he is so loved." It seems so silly to think that it took someone else's support and encouragement to make me feel like a mom, but when you have a child in the NICU, it's everything. I no longer felt that I was holding someone else's baby in an unfamiliar environment; I was holding my baby and he needed me just as much as I needed him.
I will forever be grateful to the NICU for saving my son's life, and also to Kathy, whose compassion and kindness gave me the strength to move forward and be the best mom that I can be for Jackson. I may not have had my "perfect" delivery, but I got my happy ending and I will never forget the impact Kathy made on our hearts.
Day after day, my husband and I came to the NICU; each time hoping to bring Jackson home, and each day being disappointed, frustrated, and sad when he didn't. My son was considered a "grower/feeder" and needed to be able to eat on his own. I felt completely helpless and that I was in a never ending nightmare. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.
On the last few days that Jackson was in the NICU, his day nurse was Kathy Rechsteiner. Within the first few minutes after we met her, I suddenly felt myself begin to relax. Kathy was kind, encouraging and doted on my son, and it wasn't as if the other nurses did not do the same, but Kathy was the only one who made me feel like I was Jackson's mom. She was so reassuring when my husband and I would feed him or hold him and would say things like, "look at how happy he is with you" and "he is so loved." It seems so silly to think that it took someone else's support and encouragement to make me feel like a mom, but when you have a child in the NICU, it's everything. I no longer felt that I was holding someone else's baby in an unfamiliar environment; I was holding my baby and he needed me just as much as I needed him.
I will forever be grateful to the NICU for saving my son's life, and also to Kathy, whose compassion and kindness gave me the strength to move forward and be the best mom that I can be for Jackson. I may not have had my "perfect" delivery, but I got my happy ending and I will never forget the impact Kathy made on our hearts.