In March, at 36-and-a-half weeks pregnant, my husband and I arrived at WellSpan York Hospital's ER thinking that I had kidney stones. An ultrasound showed that there was an obstruction of my kidneys, but they could not necessarily make out any specific stones. They admitted me because I was dehydrated and was also having small contractions. Two days later, when they did an ultrasound of our baby boy, they found that I had double the normal amount of amniotic fluid. They told us that I did not have any stones, but it was all the fluid that was pressing on my kidneys that was causing so much pain. We were told that they didn't want me to gain any more fluid and that we wouldn't be leaving the hospital without our baby!
They planned to induce me at midnight the next night, as soon as I turned 37 weeks pregnant. The doctor told us that all the extra fluid may cause me to hemorrhage, which we worried about, but never thought it would actually happen. On the day of my induction, my nurse, Kristin Kaminkow, arrived at 3 pm, right as I was receiving my epidural. She had come in early that day and would be working a 16-hour shift. When she came in to introduce herself, she jumped right in and helped while I was getting that epidural. This was my first baby, and I had no clue what to expect, but Kristin was phenomenal throughout my entire delivery.
She was kind and counted for me with every push. But shortly after delivery, I did hemorrhage and my blood pressure dropped. They rushed me to the OR to try to get a better picture of where all the blood was coming from. She was by my side for the entire thing, she went along to the OR and I remember she kept touching my arm in a reassuring way. You don't realize how much that small touch means during such a scary time. When I was finally all stitched up and back in my room, she still did not leave my side. All night long, for that whole 16-hour shift, she was with me. I was in and out of sleep, but every time I woke, she was there.
I needed three bags of blood, two bags of plasma, and multiple bags of fluid for my blood pressure. She was by my side all night, changing IV fluids and pushing meds, and I never got to thank her. Sometimes, so much of our "job" goes unnoticed and unrecognized simply because it's our "job." But what an amazing job she did that evening, not only helping me to welcome my first baby into this world but making sure I got to stay in this world to watch him grow. My husband and I spent seven days in the hospital before the three of us got to go home as a new family.
As a fellow employee of WellSpan York Hospital, I understand the importance of recognizing the amazing job that was done by all the labor & delivery staff that night. Kristin deserves this award, and she needs to be recognized for being the amazing, caring nurse that she is! Thank you so much!