We arrived at WellStar West Georgia Medical Center in very active labor with our first child in August 2023. I was taken to the labor and delivery floor, changed, and hooked to all the necessary monitors as my labor progressed very, very quickly (and painfully). Into the morning hours, things were going well, and I was being coached and encouraged by nurse Kenzie with each set of pushes. Things took a turn for the worse after an hour and twenty minutes of pushing when I delivered my son “stunned”. The cheering of our sweet newborn baby’s arrival in the room quickly turned to silence as he was struggling to adjust to the outside world. A team of many nurses immediately began working on him to get him stable - my husband couldn’t even cut his cord. We heard he had a super low pulse and that was all; we waited anxiously for a breath or cry.

We later saw his apgar scores and even though we knew he was struggling, it was a punch to the gut to see a 1. Minutes upon minutes went by and I was unable to see or hold my son. My husband and I were asking repeatedly what was wrong with him and if he was okay. For 16 minutes, we cried and prayed for a miracle for our son, while the nurses did everything they could. I didn’t know if he was going to make it. I was in shock, and in a room of so many people, I only could hear one voice - Kenzie’s. She held my hand and rubbed my leg the entire time we were screaming for answers, telling me I was okay and that he would also be okay.

Kenzie looked me in the eyes and told me that my fears were valid but there was an experienced staff taking care of him. She told me it was a good sign he was still in the room with us. In those 16 minutes, time stood still and I was panicking, but thankfully Kenzie was there to calm me the best she could. Her reassurance kept me together. I was able to hold my son for just a moment before they took him to the NICU, and she promised me she’d get me to him as soon as she could. Thankfully, our son responded quickly to the PPV and made an absolute 180, and since then has thrived and is absolutely perfect.

The trauma of that early morning will stay with me forever and I feel so blessed to have a healthy son. I think about Kenzie every single day and how she supported me during the scariest day of my life. Some people are natural at their job, and she is certainly one of those. Her bedside manner, knowledge, and pure kindness toward me showed her calling as a labor and delivery nurse, and our family is forever thankful for her going above and beyond to care for me!