To give some background, after miscarrying a baby on Mother's Day this past year, my husband and I learned in July that we were pregnant again. After receiving such devastating news earlier that May, we prayed desperately for a healthy pregnancy. In August we went to our first ultrasound where we saw and heard not only one heartbeat, but two! We were pregnant with twins! So began an incredibly emotional and overwhelming journey.
At a routine ultrasound in December, it was discovered that my cervix was shortening prematurely at 22 weeks, and I was admitted to Aspirus Wausau Hospital for monitoring. I was later sent home on bed rest and readmitted to the hospital again (this time indefinitely) at 24 weeks when my cervix had shortened significantly more and started to dilate. My husband and I researched and asked a lot of questions and were informed of all the scary complications we could be facing in the days or weeks to come: NICU stay, brain bleeds, disabilities, and even death were real risks for our twins.
I was an hour away from home, my husband J, toddler daughter C and my beloved Jack Russell. On top of that, was confined to a hospital bed and the same four walls for an indefinite amount of time. Due to being so far away in this Wisconsin winter, visits were only a real possibility from my husband and daughter on weekends. That meant no more tucking my daughter into bed at night, no more eating breakfast with her every day, no more one-on-one quality time with my firstborn before twins flip our world upside down. Despite my positive demeanor to nurses and other staff, I spent numerous nights crying myself to sleep because my new reality was not what I had pictured my last few months of pregnancy.
In my 72 days at the hospital, I was able to get to know a majority of the phenomenal staff in the antepartum unit. One of those individuals was Samantha Hohensee. Sam always has a smile on her face and never hesitates to take the time to have a conversation with you, no matter how busy she may be. Although I was a pretty low maintenance antepartum patient, I always felt like a top priority when Sam was my nurse for the day. Even when Sam was not assigned to my care, she made sure to stop in and say hi to me.
When I "graduated" to being allowed one wheelchair ride per day, Sam always made sure I got out of my room for a walk each day, thus kickstarting a friendship through talks and laughs on our daily ride to Starbucks. Our rides to Starbucks were the highlight of my days while in the hospital. On two occasions, Sam even brought me a box of my favorite breakfast cereal, Reese's Puffs and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, showing she cared to pay attention to my favorite things and wanted to make my stay feel more "at home." She even brought me a cake when I reached 32 weeks' gestation! After 8 weeks on bed rest at that point, it was so special to be noticed; not only was I keeping track and celebrating my milestones, but the staff was too!
The real testament to Sam, though, was how much my daughter C loved her. C had a few favorites whenever she visited on weekends, and Sam was clearly one of them. On multiple occasions, Sam would hold hands with C as we walked the halls during my wheelchair rides, and she even took turns pushing C's doll stroller. Sam also took the time to blow bubbles with C in my hospital room and let her play with her stethoscope on multiple occasions. All of these gestures made the hospital feel like a second home for C; it was no longer a scary place holding me hostage, it was now a fun place that C really looked forward to visiting. Because of the quality time Sam devoted to C when she visited, she started requesting Sam every time she and J arrived at the hospital for their weekend visits and was completely devastated if Sam was not there (to the point of tears, seriously).
While my stay has been a roller coaster and not how I envisioned spending my last few months of pregnancy, I was blessed with all the phenomenal staff here, especially having Sam as my nurse. If I had to spend another two months in the hospital, I would gladly spend it again with these nurses, doctors, and staff. Not only did I get to make some great connections, but I was also able to start some great friendships. It meant so much to make a great friend in Sam while in such a lonely situation. J, C and I are so grateful for the connection we have made with Sam and think that she is a true DAISY Nurse.