I am a nurse at CCHS and was recently a patient when I gave birth to my daughter. Lindsay was my RN in L&D. She was an incredible advocate for me and exemplified all of the values that a Magnet hospital nurse should have.
Shortly after I arrived in my L&D room, I expressed to Lindsay that I had planned for an unmedicated birth, but I was in a lot of pain and had changed my mind and decided to get an epidural. She paged anesthesia right away, but it soon became apparent that my labor was progressing very rapidly and they would not get there in time. Lindsay was obviously completely supportive either way, but I was especially glad she was my nurse since I wasn't able to get the epidural. She offered to put me on a portable monitor so I would be able to move around as I liked. Lindsay was very hands-on, massaging my back and getting me a special birth ball. My husband was feeling nervous and unsure of how he could help me, and he said he felt very reassured having Lindsay there to help. He took her example of how to apply pressure to my back during contractions and said that she made him feel much more confident in his role as my support person.
Another amazing quality about Lindsay was how intuitive she was. She was able to tell by looking at me and the sounds I was making that I was almost completely dilated. When she found out that my doctor was tied up with another delivery and would not be able to be present, she remained calm as she requested resident and nurse back up. I was not nervous about my doctor not being there since she was so calm and composed. When it was time to push, she advocated for me to the residents to be able to push on my hands and knees, since that was the only position that I could tolerate the contractions. There was a time during pushing that she was coaching me and encouraging me to push and I was feeling like I could not handle it and started saying, "I can't!" Lindsay got right up to me and said, "Yes you can. We don't say 'I can't'." This was a turning point for me, as I tell my older kids that same saying all the time! I believe that her saying this gave me the strength and courage to give the final few pushes that helped me to meet my baby girl. I know that I would not have had such a wonderful, fast and furious labor experience had it not been for Lindsay. I am forever grateful for her compassion and support and I believe she deserves this recognition.