I was induced at 37 weeks and 5 days because of gestational hypertension and concerns of preeclampsia with my rainbow boy (a baby born after a loss of another previously) and Brooke was our day nurse in L&D. I was very anxious about the induction process, and she walked me through all of my options (giving me very clear explanations on what each drug or intervention would do) so graciously when it came to trying to decide what was next. She checked in on us, made us laugh, and even when they were so busy (people were having babies in triage), she makes it a point to slow down and see if we needed anything, and you could tell even with a mask on because of COVID protocols, she had a smile on her face. She genuinely seemed to love her job.

When I asked her about why Brooke became a nurse, she told us that when she was in high school a friend of hers got pregnant and didn’t have anyone to support her in the delivery room. Brooke ended up being her friend’s support person and she walked away from that experience that she was meant to be a Labor & Delivery nurse, and support moms through arguably the most vulnerable experience any of us will ever go through. I was still in labor when she went home, and the next day when I had my son was her day off. But the following day, when we were leaving to go home, I saw her in the hallway and got her attention. She remembered us and came running over to meet our son that she cared for so deeply even when he was still in my tummy.

I had a lot of really good nurses over those 33.5 hours, but Brooke was great. She made you feel like her oldest friend, and you could see even after a long shift how much she loves her job. I wish I could do more for her to thank her for everything she did for us, especially considering we couldn’t have the level of support we wanted because of COVID. She went above and beyond to make us feel safe and cared for and I will always remember her.