My wife and I feel like we were caught in the cross hairs of the COVID-19 precautions that were instituted during delivery and recovery. (We are very thankful the hospital is taking these measures, but we were ones who found ourselves in a tough situation as a result of these circumstances.) My wife had an urgent, unplanned C-section and was under general anesthesia because of a blood disorder. When our son was born we only saw him for a few minutes before he was taken to intensive care for an undetermined amount of time. Given restrictions due to the virus, I was not allowed to go back to see him and my wife, who would be allowed, was recovering from the surgery. None of our family members were able to visit during this time due to the no visitors rule. We know that the hospital was responding to COVID cases as staffing was reduced for distancing measures, volunteers were restricted, and doctors were limited in their visitation as well. We also found out that my wife would be able to stay for the duration of our son's time in the ICN, but I could not. She would have to get well enough to take care of herself once discharged and be without my physical support. All of this is to say, we believe we were in an already emotionally taxing situation during an unprecedented time, all of which made the process less than ideal for everyone.
Enter Caelen. My understanding is that Caelen is a fairly new nurse and is working night shift most of the time. These nights were difficult times for my wife and me, both physically and emotionally. Caelen came in each night and provided a very caring ear for us to voice our feelings. We asked many questions (probably too many) about the process and expectations. She did everything she could to go above and beyond to answer our questions or find the answers we were asking for. We really believed her to be an advocate for us, as well as a trusted caregiver. She treated my wife with dignity while she was going through the pain associated with surgery recovery. She made a number of suggestions that we hadn't thought of, finding any small helps that would set our minds at ease and make the whole stay feel a little more pleasant despite the circumstances. She performed her duties expertly, but also with a real sense of compassion that caught me, the protecting husband/father, off guard. During this period of great stress, she was a calming spirit who provided ongoing assurance during tough nights. I know now that a good nurse is worth her weight in gold. I'm certain there are many nurses with more experience than Caelen at this point in her career (and we're very thankful for those as well), but Caelen's disposition and attitude made her service feel like she was family during a time when our family was not able to come to our side because of COVID-19.