Zohar McMurtry
September 2023
Zohar
McMurtry
,
RN, CPNP
JMC NICU
UC San Diego Health
La Jolla
,
CA
United States
Zohar completely stepped outside her call of duty and exhibited unlimited compassion and amazing attention to detail in my situation.
I delivered a baby girl via cesarean. Around 24 hours after delivery, I developed an excruciating headache that would come and go. I begged my care team to figure out what was causing the unbearable headache for over 24 hours while it continued to worsen. At one point, the right side of my face started uncontrollably twitching and I lost my ability to speak. A doctor promptly instructed me to lie down and get some rest because it was happening due to fatigue. Lying down certainly helped, but I was still asking every nurse and doctor coming into the room to please find out why it kept coming back.
I was told the headache would go away or they would consult with a doctor for a plan. I reiterated how it was the worst pain I’ve ever felt over and over. After struggling with this for well over 24 hours, a nurse practitioner for my newborn daughter came into the room to examine her. She quickly got to work examining her, but noticed even through my mask, something was off with me and I was struggling. (I was alone, my husband had to leave to take care of our son and wasn’t allowed back for that day due to COVID restrictions) I didn’t mention anything to her, because she was on my daughter’s team, but she still saw me and started asking questions about how I was feeling. She was the first person to actually listen to me and the first person interested in my headache.
Someone I didn’t even bring it up with because she wasn’t there for me. She told me she was leaving to get me help and 90 seconds later, 2 anesthesiologists entered the room to assess me. I was promptly given a blood patch epidural and was finally relieved of the debilitating spinal headache. I could finally hold, feed, and care for my daughter with a smile. Zohar completely stepped outside her call of duty and exhibited unlimited compassion and amazing attention to detail in my situation. Since I never brought up my condition, she could’ve easily ignored me and zipped over to the next newborn on her list. I’m so incredibly grateful she walked into our hospital room. Nearly 3 years later, I saw a random flyer for the DAISY Award and immediately thought of Zohar. She is, without a doubt, an extraordinary CPNP.
I was told the headache would go away or they would consult with a doctor for a plan. I reiterated how it was the worst pain I’ve ever felt over and over. After struggling with this for well over 24 hours, a nurse practitioner for my newborn daughter came into the room to examine her. She quickly got to work examining her, but noticed even through my mask, something was off with me and I was struggling. (I was alone, my husband had to leave to take care of our son and wasn’t allowed back for that day due to COVID restrictions) I didn’t mention anything to her, because she was on my daughter’s team, but she still saw me and started asking questions about how I was feeling. She was the first person to actually listen to me and the first person interested in my headache.
Someone I didn’t even bring it up with because she wasn’t there for me. She told me she was leaving to get me help and 90 seconds later, 2 anesthesiologists entered the room to assess me. I was promptly given a blood patch epidural and was finally relieved of the debilitating spinal headache. I could finally hold, feed, and care for my daughter with a smile. Zohar completely stepped outside her call of duty and exhibited unlimited compassion and amazing attention to detail in my situation. Since I never brought up my condition, she could’ve easily ignored me and zipped over to the next newborn on her list. I’m so incredibly grateful she walked into our hospital room. Nearly 3 years later, I saw a random flyer for the DAISY Award and immediately thought of Zohar. She is, without a doubt, an extraordinary CPNP.