I am a new mother, who was diagnosed with preeclampsia at 36 weeks and was told that I needed to get an induction. I was very scared and worried because I felt like I had not prepped myself physically or emotionally. I was started on magnesium, which I turned out to have a bad reaction to. I was incredibly lethargic, vomiting, and felt trapped in my body like I couldn’t even speak. All the nurses assured me this was normal, and I was informed that my blood work came back normal, and did not show signs of magnesium toxicity regardless of my symptoms.

I was progressing slowly in labor and my baby was experiencing late decelerations and not tolerating labor. When my doctor assessed me in person, she came to the decision to take me for an emergency C-section. At this point, I was so lethargic and confused from the magnesium. I felt so scared but couldn’t properly communicate it. My nurse at this point, Jillian, explained everything thoroughly and did her best to reassure me. I was terrified of getting the spinal injection and she promised me that she would be there and explained the procedure to me to ease my worries. I was scared about having a C-section because that was not what I had planned for. Jillian made sure to reassure me to the best of her ability. When I was brought to the operating room my fear intensified. As they began to prep me for the spinal injection, I was shaking so badly and was so scared. Jillian made sure to hold me and reassure me during the process which effectively calmed me.

During the procedure, I was still extremely lethargic, and could hardly stay awake even to look at my baby. After the procedure in the recovery room, I could not even do skin-to-skin with my baby because of my vomiting and lethargy. At this point, Jillian noticed that the reaction I was having may not be normal and was in contact with my doctor. My lab work did not show signs of magnesium toxicity and because of this, the other nurses assured me this feeling was normal even though I knew it was not. Jillian took my symptoms seriously and made sure to look out for me. She was constantly assessing and reassessing me and I felt safe knowing that she was watching over me. Eventually, they came to the conclusion to stop the magnesium, and after a while, I felt so much better and was finally able to hold and bond with my baby. I firmly believe that if Jillian had not taken me seriously, and looked past the lab work, I may have had a worse outcome.

After I was transferred to the mother baby floor, Jillian again reassured me that I would be OK and that she was back tomorrow and she would see how I was doing. I really appreciated this sentiment. I now am dealing with trauma and fear related to my birthing experience but every time I get scared I remember all that Jillian did for me and how her careful assessments kept me safe. She thought critically and look past lab values and took my situation seriously when others made me feel dismissed. For this reason I believe she is a DAISY Nurse, and I think daily about how grateful I am to her.