I came for a non stress test when I was pregnant with twins and ended up being admitted to the hospital. It was the first time I would be away from my almost 2-year-old daughter. I was extremely upset and didn’t really understand why I had to get admitted. The staff was really nice to me and tried to get me to calm down but it wasn’t working. Jouliet came in and introduced herself and told me about herself. Her energy instantly calmed me down. She was extremely kind and personal with her stories and made me relate to her at once. She brought ice water, juice and snacks right away. She asked me about my concerns and got a doctor to come in within 20 minutes and explain to me why I was getting hospitalized. I told her I didn’t get to choose my breakfast or lunch (the other nurses said I would get a menu to choose from in the morning) and she told me that this floor doesn’t get to choose their food and everyone gets the same thing, but I could call and request whatever I wanted such as bagels or eggs or even a fruit plate. She asked what I wanted for breakfast and lunch and called in and placed an order for me. They brought my breakfast and it had regular coffee (I was pregnant), Jouliet came in right away to check if everything was okay and when I mentioned that it was caffeinated, she went and personally brewed a cup of decaf coffee for me. I was being monitored and the ultrasound gel that they were using was slightly irritating, without even mentioning anything to her she came with another lotion and told me she likes to use that instead to not irritate my skin.

When the other nurses would come to adjust the monitors they would quickly do it and leave, but Jouliet would talk to my twins and me in the kindest way, apologizing for bothering both of us so frequently (the twins would move constantly so the monitors would always need adjustment). She looked at my chart and noticed that I was taking antibiotics and told me that my recent stomach pains could have been because I had them on an empty stomach since I had to take them at 2 AM. She brought over crackers with peanut butter and jelly, so that I would be able to take the antibiotics with a little bit of a snack so I didn’t hurt my stomach.

She noticed that my mother-in-law had brought over some food from home and made sure I had a refrigerator inside of my room so that I could put the food away (none of the other nurses even told me that I could do that.) She said she would personally warm up any leftovers I had if I wanted them to be warmed up and made sure I had proper utensils not only for the food that I had at the hospital but also for the leftover food I had from home.

She also noticed that the monitor was extremely bright and offered me a sleep and comfort kit which included an eye mask to put over my eyes so that I would be able to sleep at night. She recommended that I bring any personal care items like deodorant even a bathrobe or shampoo and conditioner to make myself more comfortable rather than using the soap that was in the shower. She even told me I could bring in my own personal clothing because the hospital gown was not comfortable at all. I voiced my concern about the hospital gown to an earlier nurse and she had not made the same recommendation.

Once my husband was able to bring in all of those personal items I felt a lot more comfortable with my stay including being on bed rest. My mother-in-law visited me and so did my husband, and she was so extremely nice and hospitable to them that they both said she felt like family. I told her that my husband and I were going to be celebrating our 13-year anniversary in a few days and she brought plastic champagne glasses and apple cider for both of us to toast and have a special moment. It made me so emotional that she cared so much about all these little details and literally try to make me as comfortable as possible when she was my nurse it felt like I was on a vacation.

Most importantly her compassion and care really came through during the middle of the night when my water broke at 2 AM and I was not able to get in contact with my mother or husband. At the time I was 30 weeks pregnant with my twins and was extremely emotional and frightened because I didn’t know what was going to happen and I couldn’t reach any of my loved ones. She sat with me the entire time until the doctor arrived to check on my twins and held my hand while I cried. She comforted me better than my own mother would. She even brought in another nurse that was working who had delivered her twins at 30 weeks so that she could tell me her personal story about how her twins were doing just fine now as adults. She stayed with me the entire night until 8 AM when I finally got in contact with my husband. I had to get prepped for emergency surgery (C-section) and she took all the steps and prepped me including shaving me and explaining the entire C-section process to me. She reassured me multiple times throughout the entire night and morning about how amazing the team at Northridge was and how my doctor was top-of-the-line and that there was no better team to take care of me at the time. When my husband arrived he was also emotional and she comforted him and expressed how proud she was of both of us and that we were such great parents and such a great couple and that we were going to be absolutely fine. She came into the C-section area with me and held my hand while I got a shot in my spine. She talked to me throughout the C-section and told me how amazing I was doing and updated me that everything was going great with the operation because I couldn’t see anything. Afterward she told me how beautiful my twins were and that they were in the greatest hands at NICU. I wasn’t able to see my twins for six hours after they were born and she would go back-and-forth to NICU And give me updates so that I would feel calm.

I have been to the hospital multiple times in my life and have never experienced such compassion care and absolute excellence from any staff as I did from her. She made my entire experience into a positive one and told me that everything happened for a reason and I really believed her it felt like the absolute best situation with me having her as a nurse and being in the hospital when my water broke. I consider her more than just a nurse and she honestly feels like a family member of mine after that moment I will never forget her kindness and compassion towards me and all of the little details she did to go above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable and felt safe. I Will always remember her as the reason why everything went so smoothly and the rest of the team including my doctor was really great as well but she just went above and beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined.

Note: This is Jouliet's 2nd DAISY Award!