After working all night, Paula stayed over to be my nurse since I was so close to delivery. When it came time, Paula told me when to push and in two pushes, my baby boy was out and healthy, but the same couldn't be said for me. The tragic moments that followed are when I began to know Paula beyond church-I got to witness Paula excel in her God-given skills as a nurse.
When my team proceeded to deliver my afterbirth, my uterus inverted and prolapsed. In the moments that followed, my blood pressure fell to 50/20 and I lost 4 liters of blood. As the nurses rushed in, doctors were paged, and the crash cart was rolled to my door, I was not afraid because Paula was by my side. The two times I almost passed out she squeezed my hand and told me to stay with her. I was able to hear her work with Paula to get the right people in the room to solve the problem (one she had never seen before).
Since my doctor was at church and was being paged, Paula had to think fast and page the attending. Though she admitted to me later she had never been so scared in all her life, she never let her fear deter her from leading the team of two doctors, one midwife, one anesthesiologist, five nurses, two surgical techs and not to mention glancing over to make sure my husband was taken care of.
In the months since I've thanked Paula numerous times for allowing God to use her to save my life. To such praise, she simply answers that she was doing her job. This simple statement has a profound meaning: It tells me she exemplifies Vidant's values of integrity, compassion, and teamwork. It tells me she provides the same level of excellent care for a friend like me or for a stranger she's never met. I didn't receive special treatment because of who I was, I received special treatment because of who Paula is.