God was in complete control over my birth experience because Mikaela played a prominent role in it. She was the first nurse I had when I was admitted to Labor and Delivery. She spent time with me explaining how she would work with me because I wanted as natural of a birth experience as possible. She said all the right things to make me feel at ease with my induction and I immediately knew how great her compassion was for her patients when she placed the IV line in without inflicting any pain.

The next morning, my obstetrician came to speak to me about starting pitocin, something I really wanted to avoid. The doctor was in a hurry and seemed annoyed with my hesitancy. I was stressed and anxious because of this conversation and was ready to pack up to leave for home but Mikaela gently and patiently explained to me the situation. And on top of that, I felt assured that she would be there during the pitocin induction to watch over me so that the medication did not overcome my own labor contractions. I felt at peace with the decision to continue on with pitocin ONLY because of Mikaela's reassurances.

Mikaela was so incredibly dedicated to my care that she stayed 5 hours overtime that night until midnight to be there for me while I was being induced. Additionally, she was not scheduled to work the following day but asked to work the following day beginning at 7 am so she could be there while I labored actively. Eventually, this induction attempt was not successful. The next obstetrician was extremely aggressive in her attempts to persuade me to the next stage of induction. I was so upset by this decision-making but once again, Mikaela was able to produce a positive outcome by her position as an intermediary.

My labor eventually progressed and Mikaela was there again when I needed her the most. Again, she was supposed to be off work but she asked to come in to work to take care of me. I'm so grateful she did. She proposed different techniques/positions I could take to help progress labor. She was so encouraging to keep my spirits up during my laboring. I had read a lot about laboring and the birth process but she knew of advanced techniques and assessments skills to help me during my most difficult part of laboring. I can only imagine she knew about these because of continued education she participates in to keep her as up-to-date as possible.

During my prenatal visits, my obstetrician commented regularly about my placenta giving out. Mikaela suggested to the doctor that laboratory testing be performed on my placenta so that we would have the information for future pregnancies. I am so grateful she initiated this as it never crossed my mind to have it tested.

Obviously Mikaela couldn't be my nurse continuously for the whole four days I was in Labor and Delivery. She thoroughly briefed the other nurses of the decisions which had been made, my induction situation, and my birth preferences so the transitions without her would be seamless. She played a very difficult role between advocating for me, her patient, as well as working as part of the medical establishment where certain norms and traditions are expected. It's obvious her colleagues, nurses and medical doctors, think the highest professionally of her. She balanced that role she played with precision.

Mikaela gave her all to me when she was and wasn't scheduled to be on shift and also when she wasn't actually working. I knew that she had other patients and duties to be taking care of but she never once gave me the impression that, that was so. I was always made to feel that I was at the center of her attention. From my patient perspective, she performed her duties well-beyond what could have been expected. But there is so much more behind the scenes that she did for me, I'm sure of, that I am not aware of. The day after I gave birth, she finally had a day off. That day, she still cared for us by shopping for my new baby and writing us words of encouragement.

I would never have expected, in a hospital setting, to have had this continuity of nursing care and at the skill level and compassion with which I received it. I hear the term "above and beyond" exhaustively used all the time for people performing their normal job duties. Mikaela, on the other hand, truly defines and sets the gold standard for this term. Being taken care of by Mikaela was for me the manifestation of God taking care of me.