Dedie Blackburn is an amazing nurse and a compassionate and caring person who gave me the strength to endure a very unexpected journey in the NICU. I was a full-term 38-week mom going to a regular OB NST visit when my doctor out of nowhere told me I had to go to the hospital to get induced due to complications with gestational diabetes.
After 42 hours of labor, and not nearly enough progress, I decided a C-section was the best course for me and my little one. Immediately after making this decision, I grew nauseous and my daughter's heart rate fell to 50. What was going to be a routine C-section became a dire emergency for my little girl, C.
Upon entering the world, C was not breathing, and she had acid in her blood from a traumatic birth. I entered the hospital thinking I would welcome a healthy little girl, and then quickly came to the realization that my little one would need elevated care for an indefinite period - not something I was at all prepared for. C was born at MCR and transferred to Poudre Valley to undergo a special cooling treatment. My nurse at MCR who cared for me talked about her friend, Dedie, who worked in the NICU at Poudre Valley, and she spoke very highly of her and hoped she would be C's nurse. It was meant to be! A gift from above, as Dedie was indeed C's nurse.
I was very stressed, emotional, and completely scared. Dedie listened to me, showed genuine empathy, compassion, and she shared her extraordinary expertise. Her most important quality was her natural ability to give me hope at a pivotal time in my life when I felt like hope was in short supply. Furthermore, there was something even more exceptional about Dedie, her positive energy had an amazing impact on C.
Dedie talked to C in a soothing way treating her as a person, not just a patient. She would call her "little sister" and would always talk to her and comfort her. The doctors indicated C was not moving as expected leaving me to feel like any movement may not be good enough, but Dedie celebrated every victory C had even if it was small. Dedie's warm, calming, and energetic personality held my family together at a time when uncertainty and fear could have easily broken us.
Dedie surprised me one day by telling me I would get to hold my daughter for the first time after more than five days of not being able to hold her. C still had a ventilator and EEG electrodes that were scheduled to come off, but the techs were late with removing them. Dedie persistently called the techs to remove them to ensure I could hold my daughter. She was then given permission to remove them herself and completely made my day. She provided some much-needed development and love for C.
By twelve days, C had a tremendous recovery with reassuring objective results and exhibiting positive newborn behavior. Dedie was a source of strength and hope through the entirety of our stay. There are some individuals in this world who shine so brightly that their impact will be eternal and never forgotten. Dedie is one of those cherished souls who will remain in my heart, my family's heart, and C's heart forever! Thank you, Dedie! God Bless!