After my water broke at 23 weeks, 6 days pregnant, I was devastated. I had to quit my job, pull my eldest son from childcare, and put my whole life on pause to focus on our beautiful baby boy and make sure he was right where he needed to be. Uneasy about the whole situation, I was admitted and ended up staying 4 weeks and a day in the L and D Unit. Being away from my oldest baby and my classroom of 14 2-year-olds without even a goodbye really ate away at my day-to-day motivation. I did things to try to keep myself occupied, such as coloring, puzzles, and decorating my room for the long-anticipated stay. While those things did help in the short term, the one thing that genuinely kept me going was my amazing day-to-day staff of nurses.

Truman truly does an awesome job of keeping upbeat and encouraging nurses staffed on the L and D floor. If I could, I'd give every single nurse who was by my side throughout this journey this same reward. Everyone was so passionate about what they did and never made me feel as if I was asking too much from them. Out of all my astounding nurses, there was one with whom I felt as if I had made a true friendship throughout my time spent here.

The first day I had Paige, she came in with the brightest attitude and most welcoming smile. We instantly started making conversation, laughing, and ranting to one another like two best friends. Even on days she wasn't assigned to me as a patient, she came in to check on me and made sure I was doing okay. The day our sweet boy decided to make his arrival (86 days before his due date), Paige was right by my side even though I wasn't her patient that day. Paige and M together as a team are the sole reasons I will forever cherish my delivery experience here at Truman. Going into my emergency C-section, I was immensely terrified and began to panic. Everything was moving so fast, and I just felt like something out of a movie. While the doctors and various nurses were moving a mile a minute to make sure baby boy and I were okay, Paige and M each took my hand, made eye contact, and gave me the most beautiful words of encouragement to ensure that baby and I were in the safest possible place we could be.

Once we rushed to the OR, Paige (with my permission, of course) took my phone and made sure Dad was on the way and knew exactly where to go once he got here. And when my mother called in a panic, she used her softest voice to update her and reassure her everything was okay. Once baby boy made his arrival, she was sure to snap many photos that I'll always have to look back on without even asking. It's like she knew exactly what I needed in the moment every step of the way and I'll never be able to thank her enough for the way she got me through this whole experience. I never thought it was possible to laugh and joke my way through à C-section, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. If I had to do it all again, I wouldn't have changed a single thing. Everybody deserves to have someone like Paige right by their side. I'll forever be grateful for this whole experience because of her and the tremendous team of nurses and doctors here by my side.