Rhonda Mueller
December 2023
Rhonda
Mueller
,
RN
Surgery
The Richland Hospital and Clinics
Richland Center
,
WI
United States
She talked me through all of my feelings, and I truly believe that if it wasn’t for her, I do not think I would have been able to relax and get through the emotions and feelings of anxiety I was having in that moment.
Leading up to my scheduled c-section for my 2nd child, I was a bundle of nerves. My first c-section was unscheduled, urgent, and it did not go well. I had a failed epidural turned spinal that was not discovered until I was in the OR. Needless to say, when I was being wheeled back to the OR for my repeat c-section, I was so worried that something similar was going to happen.
When I got back to the OR, all my fears were slowly coming to life and to surface. It took seven tries to get my spinal anesthetic in. I believe around the 3rd or 4th try, I started to have a panic attack. I have never had a panic attack, but I imagine that was what was happening to me. I started to hyperventilate and sob uncontrollably. All I could imagine was that I was going to require the same type of sedation I did with my first delivery, and I would not be of sound mind for HOURS after delivery. The OB staff did their best to calm me down by playing music I enjoyed, etc… but it was Rhonda who got me in the right space.
She came over, grabbed me by my shoulders, looked me in the eyes, and told me to take deep breaths. She talked me through the mental space I was in. She kept saying, “It’s me and you in here right now. We are going to take a deep breath, and in a minute, the anesthetist is going to try again, and we will talk her through what you are feeling in each attempt. I am going to make sure she gets it, and you are awake during this c-section, ok?” I told her how scared I was about having to be put to sleep like the last c-section and the difficulty I had following the last c-section in waking up and understanding everything that happened. She talked me through all of my feelings, and I truly believe that if it wasn’t for her, I do not think I would have been able to relax and get through the emotions and feelings of anxiety I was having in that moment. This situation was even more important to me because I work here. I requested Rhonda to be my OR nurse that day, and prior to my c-section, she jokingly told me that she does not enjoy c-sections, but because I asked, she would do it for me. I also had so many thoughts about what my co-workers would have thought about my panic attack in that moment that I couldn’t get out of my mind.
If it wasn’t for Rhonda and her calm, firm, and collected presence; I do not know if my 2nd c-section would have eventually gone so well. I do not know if Rhonda truly understands how much her presence meant to me that day. Or if she ever will.
When I got back to the OR, all my fears were slowly coming to life and to surface. It took seven tries to get my spinal anesthetic in. I believe around the 3rd or 4th try, I started to have a panic attack. I have never had a panic attack, but I imagine that was what was happening to me. I started to hyperventilate and sob uncontrollably. All I could imagine was that I was going to require the same type of sedation I did with my first delivery, and I would not be of sound mind for HOURS after delivery. The OB staff did their best to calm me down by playing music I enjoyed, etc… but it was Rhonda who got me in the right space.
She came over, grabbed me by my shoulders, looked me in the eyes, and told me to take deep breaths. She talked me through the mental space I was in. She kept saying, “It’s me and you in here right now. We are going to take a deep breath, and in a minute, the anesthetist is going to try again, and we will talk her through what you are feeling in each attempt. I am going to make sure she gets it, and you are awake during this c-section, ok?” I told her how scared I was about having to be put to sleep like the last c-section and the difficulty I had following the last c-section in waking up and understanding everything that happened. She talked me through all of my feelings, and I truly believe that if it wasn’t for her, I do not think I would have been able to relax and get through the emotions and feelings of anxiety I was having in that moment. This situation was even more important to me because I work here. I requested Rhonda to be my OR nurse that day, and prior to my c-section, she jokingly told me that she does not enjoy c-sections, but because I asked, she would do it for me. I also had so many thoughts about what my co-workers would have thought about my panic attack in that moment that I couldn’t get out of my mind.
If it wasn’t for Rhonda and her calm, firm, and collected presence; I do not know if my 2nd c-section would have eventually gone so well. I do not know if Rhonda truly understands how much her presence meant to me that day. Or if she ever will.