I had the pleasure of having Laura Bland as my L & D Nurse for the 2nd time. In 2016, Laura was with me during the birth of my 3rd child which turned out to be one of the scariest times of my life after suffering from a PP hemorrhage. She is the epitome of calm during the mist of a storm. I remember her standing over me telling me over and over, "You are going to be okay, keep your eyes open for your new little one!" She never left my side and helped give me the strength and encouragement I needed to survive. Unfortunately, my son passed away a short 2 months after his birth. Again, one of the worst times of my life. I remember standing at his memorial service going through the emotions and looking up and seeing Laura there. We embraced and again she told me exactly what I needed to hear at that moment, "You are going to be okay". Just knowing that she took time out of her life and schedule to attend my son's funeral shows her dedication to her patients. It's not just your typical nurse/patient relationship that ends when your shift is over.
Fast forward 2 years later being pregnant with my rainbow baby and my emotions were running high. All the fears came rushing back. I thought to myself, I need to be calm and focus on the end result. I requested that if Laura was working could have her as my nurse, not knowing if she would even be working on my induction day. Low and behold she had changed her schedule and was able to be my nurse again. Yet again Laura was my calm during the storm. After 11 hours of labor and a few scary moments of heart decels with my little one and the threat of a possible C-section, Laura said, "Do you trust me? Let's try this one last time before we throw in the towel". Less than 30 minutes later she helped me welcome my fourth child, another little boy. All day she provided me with words of encouragement and wisdom to help me overcome my emotions and fears of history repeating itself. Laura is a true DAISY Nurse for her dedication to her patients and their whole health. She possesses a distinctive set of traits that allow her to be that nurse you always will remember. I will be forever grateful to Laura and everything she did to help me overcome what I couldn't overcome myself. Being a nurse myself, I can only hope to one day have the same impact and impression on my patients.