As my husband and I anticipated the birth of our second son, we were nervous about making the drive from our small town in Southwest Iowa to Des Moines. The day finally came and we made the hour drive to Methodist Medical Center. After being assigned a room, shift change occurred and I was greeted by my labor and delivery nurses, Kelly and Michelle. Michelle is in the Nurse Residency program and Kelly is her mentor. They were both exceptional.

During our stay, my husband and I had the great honor to have Kelly not only as a L&D nurse, but also as a postpartum nurse. As our labor and delivery nurse, she provided a sense of calm during a time which is often not serene. Additionally, she shared her expertise in labor positioning to help the overall process. Kelly's quick thinking and actions helped to safely bring our son into the world. The days following his birth, Kelly answered all our questions and provided great care. She instilled confidence in our ability to parent a newborn again through great communication and compassion.

I am grateful Kelly was assigned to us and was able to follow us throughout our stay. Kelly is exceptional and I can only hope that our next child will be surrounded by her poise, knowledge and genuine kindness upon arrival.

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel"--Maya Angelou