I have been a scrub tech in labor and delivery for 18 years and have never seen a patient more terrified than I did this evening. Mycah was working alongside the patient's nurse to help out during the surgery. The patient was inconsolable and shouting "I don't want to do this" in-between sobs and vomiting. Nothing anyone said to her was working to calm her down and eventually, the patient's physician asked her if music might console her. The patient said yes and when she was asked what kind of music she liked, she said "Christian music." Someone in the room mentioned that we don't have a stereo in our OR and Mycah quickly chimed in and said, "that's okay, we can use my phone. I can find you Christian music." And she did. Once the music was put on, the patient appeared to calm down for a moment and then started crying again, saying how scared she was. Mycah walked up to the patient and said: "if you'd like, I could sit here with you until your husband comes in." The patient said she'd like that and Mycah sat down next to her and held her hand, paying no mind to what was going on in the room except for the patient's immediate needs. Not too many words were spoken between her and the patient; it was obvious Mycah recognized the patient's need to simply be comforted in a manner that had nothing to do with her pregnancy and everything to do with being a human being in need of kindness, compassion, and understanding.
Between the music coming out of Mycah's phone and staying true to her word by sitting by the patient's side until her husband was able to join her, the patient's fear and panic were drastically reduced. I'm not sure if anyone else in the operating room noticed this going on because so much else was taking place, but I sure did. I stood there and watched incredible nursing care take place that didn't involve medication or machines but consisted of genuine empathy and concern for a patient in need.