Mary "Cricket" Ramsey was caring for a patient that was being induced. The patient was young, and it was her first baby. Her sister was her support person and told us she was given custody of the patient (her younger sister) when she was 16. The staff from the previous shift had expressed some concerns about their difficulty "bonding" with the patient and her sister.
Cricket worked really hard to build trust and rapport with this patient and her sister from the very beginning of her shift. As the morning progressed the patient's labor intensified. As the patient's labor progressed her fetal heart tracing changed from very reassuring to suddenly in distress. Cricket examined the patient and found a prolapsed fetal cord.
In the OB world, this is a true emergency where the baby has literally minutes to be delivered via emergency c-section to prevent long term damage and possibly death. The person who finds the prolapsed cord has to keep their fingers in place and attempt to lift the fetal head off the cord to minimize cord occlusion and maximize blood flow to the baby. They keep their hand in place and "ride the bed" to the operating room and remain in place under the drapes in the operating room until the baby is delivered.
Cricket remained calm, asked the patient's sister to pull the nurse call from the wall which alerted everyone there was an emergency. Cricket immediately began explaining to the patient and her sister what was happening and preparing them for the change in plans. Cricket continued to calmly explain to the patient everything that was happening and reassure her that she and her baby were going to receive the best care possible. The patient had an epidural in place and was able to remain awake during her surgery.
In the controlled chaos of the operating room with probably 15 people rapidly setting up equipment and preparing for the surgery, the patient continued to focus on Cricket and remained completely calm. Every time I looked at the patient she was completely focused on Cricket, looking at only her, and listening to Cricket calmly reassure her. I have been an L&D nurse at Vanderbilt for 27 years and this patient was the calmest patient I have ever witnessed in an emergency situation. I truly believe she remained calm because of the trust she had in Cricket and Cricket's quiet, calm, reassuring words.
Later the patient's sister told me how thankful they were for Cricket and her care. The patient told me she was able to remain calm because she knew if Cricket was with her in the operating room that she was "going to be just fine"! She told me as soon as Cricket climbed in the bed with her and began explaining the drastic turn of events that she felt scared but peaceful because of Cricket's presence.
In my opinion, this is everything the nurse/patient relationship should be. Childbirth is an incredibly vulnerable time for women, especially a young woman having her first baby. I have worked with Cricket for several years. She has always made her relationship with her patient a priority, but I feel like this specific situation was so special that it deserves recognition!