Telycia was heaven-sent during the delivery of my son! I was only 36 weeks pregnant when I was admitted to labor and delivery, and I did not expect to have my son that day.  All of the nurses I had were wonderful, but Telycia is the one who I feel went above and beyond her duty as a nurse. When Telycia walked into my room, I was so relieved to see her! She gave such a calming and familiar presence because Telycia was one of the nurses who helped deliver my third baby! When I saw her smiling face come into my room, I had such a calm feeling come over me. She greeted my husband and me, saying she was excited to see my name on the list. I told her I was so happy to see her! I then told her how worried I was about having a baby on "Friday the 13th" and if that would be super unlucky. Writing this out now, I know how silly it must sound, but when you're pregnant and your hormones are going wild, sometimes silly things make you overreact. She assured me all would be well and not to worry about the date.

Telycia also knew how important it was to me to have a completely natural birth without any medications or an epidural. While laboring, she would come in and chat with my husband and me about our other kiddos and just life in general. It was wonderful to have her come in, as she had such a calming effect again. While laboring, I mentioned to Telycia and my husband how I wished the movie Moana was on the TV because I love the waves in that movie, and how the sounds and pictures of the waves help me picture my baby coming closer and closer to me with each contraction/wave. She told me she had an idea and that she'd be right back. When she returned, she had this amazing light and sound machine! She was able to cast what looked like waves onto the ceiling and had the sound set to waves. It was incredible! She also had some different objects that could be used to help forget the contractions. I remember her saying her shift would be over at 11 pm, and I told her I was sad because I really didn't think I'd have my baby until after midnight. She said she had a feeling my baby would come before midnight, but I wasn't too convinced. Later on Telycia came in and introduced me to the next nurse who would be taking over!

Anyway, when she introduced my next nurse, she told me how today was also her birthday and how great a person she was, so having a birthday on the 13th isn't so bad! That made me laugh and smile. I again felt calm and thought, 'If this nurse can be a great person and not be unlucky by having a birthday on the 13th day, my baby will be awesome too!' It meant so much for Telycia to bring up the birthday because she knew how nervous and upset I was that my baby might have the 13th be his birthday. Again, I know that sounds silly, but I was still trying to process the fact that I was even going to be giving birth this early when my son's due date wasn't for another month! I told Telycia I really didn't want her to leave, but understood that her shift was over. Here's where Telycia showed what a kind and compassionate nurse she is: she stayed. She stayed as an additional support person for me because we just had such an amazing bond. Not only had she been there for me with my third child, she was going to be there for me for my fourth child to come into the world as well! I could barely contain my happiness writing this, as it meant the world to me that Telycia was there for me.

She kept telling me, "You can do this. You're amazing and you got this!" I'll never forget her saying those words to me or how she held my hand during each contraction. When it was time to push, Telycia was there coaching me and supporting me. My son was born at 11:35 pm, and Telycia was right there when he came earthside! She was even able to get some awesome pictures of my husband cutting the umbilical cord! We would never have gotten those amazing pictures had Telycia not been there. I know this is a really long story, but I'm at a loss for words to express how much Telycia means to me. I have never had a nurse who went so above and beyond before. She truly cared for me and wanted to see me have the natural birth that I hoped to have. I don't know if I could have given birth naturally without Telycia's help. The compassion she gave me and then also my son as he came into this world is something I'll never forget. I hope Telycia knows how much she means to me and my family! It's not often that you have the same nurse for two children's births, but I'm so thankful to say I had Telycia in the room and by my side for both births. I will always remember how empathetic Telycia was and how comforting it was to have her by my side while giving birth. Thank you, Telycia!