Lauren Ricks
January 2023
Lauren
Ricks
,
RN
Labor and Delivery
Adventist Health Hanford
Hanford
,
CA
United States
Lauren Ricks saved our son’s life by properly doing the CHD portion of the newborn screening and trusting her gut that something wasn’t right with his appearance and the machines.
The holiday started out as another holiday missed with family, but turned into a night that saved our son’s life. Lauren took over our care after receiving turnover from the dayshift – the plan was for us to discharge home pending L’s 24-hour newborn screening and his Covid-19 test. Lauren had all of the discharge paperwork printed out and we completed the discharge teaching as well as the necessary signatures for discharge. Up until this point, we had a smooth delivery and an uncomplicated recovery/transition.
L was born at 40 weeks and 2 days without any anticipated complications apart from myself testing positive for Covid-19 at 39 weeks pregnant. I had been told multiple times that I was the “perfect, boring pregnant patient” and both anatomy ultrasounds agreed. Lauren started the CHD screening upon the 24-hour of life mark with hopes that we would soon be discharged and heading back home to catch a few fireworks with our almost 3-year-old daughter and the rest of our family. L’s oxygen levels were reading on the portable device at the bedside in the low 80s, but at that time his coloring was pink and he did not show any signs of distress. Lauren decided to take him into the nursery and recheck his oxygen levels for the CHD screening since the numbers on the machine did not match his appearance. She advised us to go ahead and plan to stay the night since it was already late and the screening would have to be repeated.
L was kept in the nursery for a short time before Lauren came in and confirmed that the readings were in fact reading in the low 80s. She notified the provider as well as the NICU team that was working that night in the hospital. They heard a very faint heart murmur upon auscultating in the nursery. The plan at that time was to continue observation at the bedside and to repeat the CHD screening around 0600 in the morning. Lauren checked in on us throughout the night to make sure he was still able to feed and not showing any further signs of distress or change in coloring.
When Lauren came in to check on us around 0600, L required more stimulation to feed and his chest/stomach looked duskier. His oxygen levels at that time were reading in the high 70s and he was immediately taken back into the nursery where Lauren called the provider and the NICU nurse again. L’s heart murmur had become more distinct and he was more symptomatic at that point. She gave us a quick update on everything and told us that L would be transferred to Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera for a Cardiac workup. Lauren explained that sometimes babies just need more time to transition and the best-case scenario is he just requires further testing before getting released. As a nurse, I could tell that Lauren was trying to do the same thing I have had to do many times with my own patients and their families by hoping for the best while frantically working behind the scenes and keeping everyone in the loop.
L had to stay in the nursery until they were ready to transfer him out, but we were given a photo of him and information from the NICU nurse that would be joining him for the transport. It all happened in a whirlwind – right before discharging from the hospital with my husband, we received a phone call that would change our lives. Our son has a Congenital Heart Defect – multiple defects at that – and we were having to give verbal consent for him to get a PICC line, anesthesia support, blood products, and a breathing tube if necessary. L had to get prostaglandins pushed through the PICC line access to keep his PDA open.
At that point, the surgeon had said the prostaglandins were keeping our son alive and that he would have only survived hours or days at best if his defects were not corrected. L had to undergo over 11 hours of open-heart surgery and another procedure to close his chest a week later. It was the longest 6 weeks of our lives while he was at Valley Children’s Hospital, but we owe everything to L’s medical team. Lauren Ricks saved our son’s life by properly doing the CHD portion of the newborn screening and trusting her gut that something wasn’t right with his appearance and the machines. She was able to get him transferred to a higher level of care before his PDA closed and before he declined further. Lauren will forever hold a special place in our hearts and in our home. Thank you!
L was born at 40 weeks and 2 days without any anticipated complications apart from myself testing positive for Covid-19 at 39 weeks pregnant. I had been told multiple times that I was the “perfect, boring pregnant patient” and both anatomy ultrasounds agreed. Lauren started the CHD screening upon the 24-hour of life mark with hopes that we would soon be discharged and heading back home to catch a few fireworks with our almost 3-year-old daughter and the rest of our family. L’s oxygen levels were reading on the portable device at the bedside in the low 80s, but at that time his coloring was pink and he did not show any signs of distress. Lauren decided to take him into the nursery and recheck his oxygen levels for the CHD screening since the numbers on the machine did not match his appearance. She advised us to go ahead and plan to stay the night since it was already late and the screening would have to be repeated.
L was kept in the nursery for a short time before Lauren came in and confirmed that the readings were in fact reading in the low 80s. She notified the provider as well as the NICU team that was working that night in the hospital. They heard a very faint heart murmur upon auscultating in the nursery. The plan at that time was to continue observation at the bedside and to repeat the CHD screening around 0600 in the morning. Lauren checked in on us throughout the night to make sure he was still able to feed and not showing any further signs of distress or change in coloring.
When Lauren came in to check on us around 0600, L required more stimulation to feed and his chest/stomach looked duskier. His oxygen levels at that time were reading in the high 70s and he was immediately taken back into the nursery where Lauren called the provider and the NICU nurse again. L’s heart murmur had become more distinct and he was more symptomatic at that point. She gave us a quick update on everything and told us that L would be transferred to Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera for a Cardiac workup. Lauren explained that sometimes babies just need more time to transition and the best-case scenario is he just requires further testing before getting released. As a nurse, I could tell that Lauren was trying to do the same thing I have had to do many times with my own patients and their families by hoping for the best while frantically working behind the scenes and keeping everyone in the loop.
L had to stay in the nursery until they were ready to transfer him out, but we were given a photo of him and information from the NICU nurse that would be joining him for the transport. It all happened in a whirlwind – right before discharging from the hospital with my husband, we received a phone call that would change our lives. Our son has a Congenital Heart Defect – multiple defects at that – and we were having to give verbal consent for him to get a PICC line, anesthesia support, blood products, and a breathing tube if necessary. L had to get prostaglandins pushed through the PICC line access to keep his PDA open.
At that point, the surgeon had said the prostaglandins were keeping our son alive and that he would have only survived hours or days at best if his defects were not corrected. L had to undergo over 11 hours of open-heart surgery and another procedure to close his chest a week later. It was the longest 6 weeks of our lives while he was at Valley Children’s Hospital, but we owe everything to L’s medical team. Lauren Ricks saved our son’s life by properly doing the CHD portion of the newborn screening and trusting her gut that something wasn’t right with his appearance and the machines. She was able to get him transferred to a higher level of care before his PDA closed and before he declined further. Lauren will forever hold a special place in our hearts and in our home. Thank you!