Courtney Schmid
December 2024
Courtney
Schmid
,
RN
Labor & Delivery
Chesapeake Regional Medical Center
Chesapeake
,
VA
United States
She came in and just melted it all away for the time being. She was the type of person who made me feel like I was safe in a time when I felt my lowest.
I came in at 23 weeks pregnant with cramping and slight bleeding. The same day I had a C-section, and my baby did not make it. I was in the hospital for two days. It was a traumatic labor and lots of pain. I didn't meet Courtney until later that night. I had great nurses who helped me through the delivery, and the before that just were amazing. I was going through lots of emotions and things I had never felt before and was having a hard time processing what happened to me and my son. She was a breath of fresh air during a time that was smokey.
I knew that with her, I was, one, going to be properly taken care of and, two, that she would keep my mind distracted from what was happening for a moment. We talked about anything and everything I felt like. I know that without her there at night, I would have gone crazy. I was in my head a lot thinking about all the what ifs and things that could've happened if I maybe did something different, also having a hard time sleeping. She came in and just melted it all away for the time being. She was the type of person who made me feel like I was safe in a time when I felt my lowest. I made her promise me after the first night that she would come back and be my nurse because I didn't want anyone else. In retrospect, I know that was a lot to ask her, and she could've been scheduled in a different part of the floor, but the next night, she was there. I think I needed consistency to make sense of what was happening, and to me, she gave me that. We walked up and down the hall a few times, talking about hurricanes, the weather, how she started and got to where she is, her kids, and my daughter.
I know sometimes you talk to nurses, and they are nice because they have to or they want to either, but talking to Courtney, I felt like she was really in the conversation with me and enjoyed it just as much as I did. I didn't feel like she was talking at me or going through a mental list of things that needed to be discussed with me as her patient but also talking to me as a peer. I don't think without her there those nights, I would have ever been mentally where I am now, and for that, I owe her forever and always.
I knew that with her, I was, one, going to be properly taken care of and, two, that she would keep my mind distracted from what was happening for a moment. We talked about anything and everything I felt like. I know that without her there at night, I would have gone crazy. I was in my head a lot thinking about all the what ifs and things that could've happened if I maybe did something different, also having a hard time sleeping. She came in and just melted it all away for the time being. She was the type of person who made me feel like I was safe in a time when I felt my lowest. I made her promise me after the first night that she would come back and be my nurse because I didn't want anyone else. In retrospect, I know that was a lot to ask her, and she could've been scheduled in a different part of the floor, but the next night, she was there. I think I needed consistency to make sense of what was happening, and to me, she gave me that. We walked up and down the hall a few times, talking about hurricanes, the weather, how she started and got to where she is, her kids, and my daughter.
I know sometimes you talk to nurses, and they are nice because they have to or they want to either, but talking to Courtney, I felt like she was really in the conversation with me and enjoyed it just as much as I did. I didn't feel like she was talking at me or going through a mental list of things that needed to be discussed with me as her patient but also talking to me as a peer. I don't think without her there those nights, I would have ever been mentally where I am now, and for that, I owe her forever and always.