From the beginning of her shift, Alex was phenomenal. She was caring and attentive. My induction process had begun Monday morning, and Alex was my daytime nurse on Tuesday. By Tuesday morning, I was already frustrated by the lack of progression but was trying to remain positive. This was my third child, so I didn't understand why my body wasn't cooperating.

The doctor on call from my group recommended we go ahead and start Pitocin. Alex also recommended trying a "balloon." At first, the doctor on call disagreed. Shortly after, she called back and agreed to try the balloon after talking with some colleagues. The balloon actually worked just as we had hoped, so I thanked Alex for advocating and making the suggestion. My water broke shortly after the balloon was removed while Alex was trying to get me comfortable on my side. She left my room only to return in a few minutes, stating that the baby didn't like that position. We tried my other side, and she came back even quicker. She decided to check on me to see if I was further along than expected. When she did, she stated she believed she felt a foot with a cord around it. She took a couple of seconds to make sure she was truly feeling a foot and then told me she needed to call someone to confirm. She looked at me and let me know that there were about to be a lot of people and, more than likely, things were about to move very quickly.

Within what seemed like a few seconds, multiple people entered the room, the foot and cord were confirmed, and we were off to the OR. From what I remember and understand, Alex was unable to move because she needed to try to keep the cord inside, so she hopped up on the bed with me. There was no hesitation on her part. A few minutes later, I was on the operating table, being put to sleep. One of the last things I heard was, "We can't get a heartbeat. Dump the betadine!" Our son C was born with an Apgar score of 3 at 1 minute but was an eight at the 5-minute check. This was not the birth I imagined. However, the team at Sacred Heart worked seamlessly together that evening to save my baby's life. Everyone was amazing.

Dr. T was calm within the storm. However, the one person that really sticks out to me when I think about all that happened is Alex. She paid attention and realized things were changing. If she had not been so attentive and quick to act, I'm not so sure C and I would be this side of heaven today. Even if she was not calm on the inside, she focused her attention on taking care of me and made me feel as comfortable as possible during a traumatic situation. She's my hero. My husband and I will forever be grateful for her.

Alex checked on me in recovery and let me know that she had been praying during the chaos, which made me feel even more like God meant for her to be my nurse that day. She also checked on us in the postpartum unit and was able to hold C. She went above and beyond before, during, and after C's birth to make us feel extra special.