I wanted to let you know about the excellent care I received from Shana, a labor and delivery nurse. Being a nurse at AdventHealth myself, I know what constitutes an average nurse versus an excellent nurse and Shana is excellent. I had a difficult delivery as our son was "posterior" which Shana explained to me since I am a cardiac nurse having never heard of this term. She informed my husband and me that this meant that I may have a more difficult labor, but that everyone was different.
Well, I had a more difficult labor and Shana was with us every step of the way only leaving my bedside to use the restroom once and to eat her lunch, which I imagine was cut short. Because our son was posterior, I had immense pain in my back and legs even with an epidural. Anytime I mentioned that I was in discomfort Shana paged anesthesia immediately and someone was there right away. Shana is a nurse who is very much in control of every situation she is in and her experience shines. After two hours of pushing it became evident that this was not going to be an easy delivery and Shana worked with me on various ways to make pushing more effective. We tried it all! She was in constant contact with my doctor this whole time as well.
One of the greatest things about Shana though is that while this was a hard delivery, my husband and I could hardly tell because Shana kept things light. We truly enjoyed talking with her and she made things extremely easy for us, considering the situation. I ended up pushing for 5.5 hours and delivered our son around shift change at 7:37 pm. I was in tears around hour 4.5-5 of pushing wondering if this was going to work or I would end up in a C-section. I also voiced that I was concerned about Shana leaving as it was nearing the end of her shift because I had grown very fond of her. She told me she was not going to leave my side until I had our son. This was so reassuring to me, and she kept her promise. Our son ended up needing to go to the NICU because of the prolonged pushing. He is currently a healthy baby boy, so for that, we are grateful!
The day after the delivery Shana came and visited me on the mother and baby unit to see how I was doing. I was a wreck since our son was in the NICU and I myself was not feeling that well after the long labor. Her visit meant so much to me and she and I talked about if I had made the right decision to push for that long versus a C-section and she reassured me. Shana has got to be one of the best nurses at AdventHealth. In my opinion, it is rare to find an experienced nurse who is so competent in their skills and truly cares for her patients. My husband and I knew someone needed to know how fabulous she is!