When I was hospitalized at 35 weeks pregnant and told I had to stay 2 weeks in the hospital or have my baby 2 weeks early I was scared. That first night, Kellie was my nurse. She came in and made sure I was very well informed and that this was best for all involved. When my doctor started talking about going straight to a C-section or the option of an induction, she told me to weigh my options and be open-minded to all scenarios. She helped to educate me on the induction and c-section process and helped me form a plan and list of questions to ask my provider to help me in making an educated decision. She made sure I was aware of my choices, helped me face the hard facts, and helped me make up my mind.

Kellie was my nurse multiple times during my stay. The night I was induced, she was assigned to me after I had been in labor for almost 24 hours. When she walked through the door, I was so relieved because my girl always loved when she would be the one to monitor her and within 2 hours of her coming in to work my little girl was born. I decided that my daughter would wait for her favorite nurse to be there to meet her. Just before my daughter was born, I had come to the decision I was going to give up, and I was calling for the day nurse to tell her I was done, I couldn’t do it, and I gave up. Kellie came in the room encouraged me and informed me nope I’m not allowed to because my baby was ready to meet me. When everything in the delivery room became hectic, she was the calm in the storm and made sure we were both safe and taken care of. She made sure that we didn’t know how bad things were for me at that moment, just handled everything. She was my nurse every night for the remainder of my stay, and we would not have had it any other way.

Before she left the last morning, she made sure to come by and tell me how proud she was and give my baby a few (what she thought would be) last snuggles. To this day we still go to see her at the hospital every few weeks because my girl knows her, Mrs. Kellie, and loves her and so do I. Even now 3 months later when I ask my daughter if she wants to go see Mrs. Kellie she will get a giant smile and is ready to go and we better not skip it for any reason because that is one of her favorite people, Kellie has become more than just a nurse to us, she is a lifetime friend that we will forever be bonded with.