I was 38 weeks pregnant when I was told to go into labor and delivery because I thought I may be in labor. My husband and I grabbed our bags and the car seat and headed to the hospital. We'd had a fairly uneventful pregnancy so we had every reason to believe we would be coming home with our beautiful baby boy. Unfortunately our world was turned upside down when we were told that they could not detect a heartbeat and our son, B, was gone.
Because B was breech and had measured big the whole pregnancy, we opted for a c-section. We were scheduled for later that afternoon but there was a little bit of a delay because we had to wait for anesthesia. This meant that my surgery ended up falling right in the middle of shift change. Nurse Shay came into the OR, right up to my head, and introduced herself. "Hi, my name is Shay and I am going to be taking care of you tonight. I am so sorry for what you are going through but we are going to get through this together. We are going to be doing a lot of crying together, your son is beautiful." These words seem so simple but in that moment, they were exactly what I needed to hear.
Once we were back up to our room, Shay made sure that both my husband and I were as comfortable as possible. She brought us a plate of snacks as the cafeteria was closed and I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours. She also found a coworker to walk with my husband to get our bags from the car as the main entrance was closed and he would've had a hard time getting back in the building. Being a first-time mom, I was worried that it would be awkward when the nurses were helping with my post-op needs. Shay treated me with complete respect and dignity and I realized all my worries were for nothing.
We chose to have a photographer come to take photos after B was born; however, with the timing of everything, the photographer wasn't able to get to us until about 9 pm. While we waited, Shay helped us give B his first bath and offered for both me and my husband to be as involved as we wanted. She was so gentle and caring the entire time. She then spent the next two hours helping the photographer as well as taking photos with the hospital camera. She also offered to take photos on our cell phones.
By the time the photographer left, my husband and I were exhausted. Shay helped get my husband set up for the night, made sure I had everything I needed, and told us she wanted us to sleep. The entire time we had Shay as our nurse, I didn't feel like I had to worry about anything. She was personable, caring, confident, and genuine. In our opinion, Shay made the night so much less stressful. Both my husband and I were just waking up when her shift ended and neither of us feels we were able to give her the thanks she deserves.
We cannot think of someone more deserving. Shay is a true DAISY Nurse.