My husband and I had Rosie as our nurse three years ago and will never forget our time with her. Prior to arriving at Froedtert, I was told by doctors that our unborn child had less than 1% chance of survival. When I was 17 weeks pregnant, my bag of water broke due to PPROM, leaving no amniotic fluid for our baby. When I met with the Fetal Concerns Center a few days later, we were faced with a terrifying reality. The baby that we tried for years to have had almost no chance of survival outside the womb. Some people in our circumstance choose to terminate the pregnancy. Despite the poor odds, we decided to continue with the pregnancy. At 22 weeks, I was admitted to Froedert and it was there that I met Rosie for the first time. During my time there, she cared for my needs both physically and emotionally. She wanted to know all about my life, my story and what was important to me. That exceptional level of care, compassion and empathy is what makes Rosie such a great nurse and is what caused her to make the best decisions for my physical and emotional health.
The night our son was born was the most terrifying experience of my life, but it was made easier having Rosie there. When I was around 25 weeks, I started laboring and the plan was to give birth naturally. I had never experienced contractions or knew anything about labor. Rosie stood by my side holding my hand helping me through the process. Eventually, our son's heart rate crashed and I was sent in for an emergency C-section. Rosie ran with me next to my bed into the operating room explaining everything that was about to happen. She knew how scared I was and she took it upon herself to be the person to calm me down. As I was going under for my C-section, the last thing I heard was her saying "K everything will be OK. I'm not leaving your side." When I woke up from my C-section, Rosie was standing above me holding my hand explaining what happened. She said "K, you have a baby boy, he's alive, he's in the NICU and he is so, so beautiful". I was immediately brought back to my room and was told I couldn't see him because I just came out of surgery. I looked at Rosie with tears in my eyes and she knew immediately that she had to get me to him. She worked with others and carried me out of my bed into a wheelchair and brought me down to the NICU, monitoring my physical health the whole time. That time in the NICU with him is time I will never forget. I sang to my little boy. I stroked his face. I told him how much I loved him and how proud I was of him for being so brave. My family met him. We had him baptized and were with him when he took his last breath. He was alive for only five hours, that was the entirety of his life. I got to spend most of his life with him. I am forever grateful for Rosie for giving us that. While we were in the NICU with him, Rosie was walking in the background taking pictures. We never asked her to. She brought her camera from home and kept it in her locker knowing that he would likely be born soon. She wanted to make sure we had pictures of him without us having to worry about taking the pictures, she just wanted us to enjoy and focus on the little time we had with him. If it wasn't for her, we would have very few pictures of our son, something that would certainly sadden me today. Instead, we have many pictures of him, pictures of him with us and with each one of our family members. Rosie came to our son's funeral with flowers in hand. She cried with us and checked up on me in the months that followed to make sure my husband and I were OK both physically and emotionally.
When I got pregnant later with our daughter, Rosie reached out to me unsolicited asking me how I was feeling. I asked her if she would be there for the delivery. Without hesitation, she said "yes" and, despite working nights, she rearranged her schedule to be there for my morning C-section. She stood right next to my husband holding my other hand when our daughter was born. There is no one else I would have rather had there. She cried when she held her for the first time.
What makes Rosie so unique as a person and as a nurse is that she has an ability to connect with her patients and truly understand their needs. Rosie kept me at ease. I felt safe when I was around her. I trusted her. She advocated for my health and well-being throughout the entire stay.
I've always thought nursing was a noble profession, but it wasn't until I met Rosie that I experienced the power they have to change people's lives. And there is no question that she changed ours for the better. Rosie is a true DAISY Nurse!
***
One of Rosie's hobbies is photography; she keeps her Cannon Rebel XSI camera in her car in case she needs to capture a memorable moment. Rosie was caring for an ante partum patient; she developed a rapport with this patient. The patient went into preterm labor and needed an emergency caesarian section. Her baby was transferred to Children's Hospital, Rosie recognizing what was important to the patient, had a co-worker go to her car, get her camera, and bring it back to her. Rosie went to the NICU and took pictures of her baby to bring back to the patient to view. The patient was so grateful for the act of compassion, unfortunately, the baby passed away. Rosie attended the funeral and saw that the patient posted all the pictures Rosie had taken to represent the love they had for their baby.
We already have a consent form to allow newborns to receive photographs. Due to this experience, Rosie along with another member of practice council revised the policy and we now have an informed consent for photos of newborn demises. Rosie is one of the volunteer nurses that will come in specifically to take pictures of the patients and their families. Rosie's actions demonstrate innovation and participation in activities that improve patient care.