From the first time I walked into the Labor and Delivery unit, Kathy was there. The first time I had to have an overnight stay, I was a nervous wreck and very emotional. Upon checking in, Kathy took care of me. She walked me through what the game plan was, what she was doing, and why she was doing it. She answered every question I had, no matter if I asked the same question several times. My baby was very hard to find on the monitor, and she took the time to come up with different ideas to make it work not only for the baby but to make me comfortable as well. Getting him on the monitor was a hard project. There were times that the baby would play hide and seek, so she would just stand there and hold it until time was up. The second time I had to come in was just for a couple of hours. Once again, Kathy was there and was able to get him on the monitor and was able to get us out of there within a few hours.
The 3rd time I was put in was the most emotional for me, as soon as I walked through the doors, I just broke down in tears due to my situation with the baby. I cried as I had never cried before, and Kathy was right there taking me by the hand and trying to calm me down. Once checked in, Kathy held the monitor and got the baby to show up and held it for 20-30 minutes, making sure everything was good. During this 3rd and final stay, I received the news that I would have to be there for 2 weeks before I would have a planned C-section.
When I received the news, Kathy was there to walk me through and let me know everything was going to be ok. During those 2 weeks, Kathy became more like family. She spent hours holding the monitor, explaining what was going on, helping me mentally get through the 2 weeks she made it feel like something I could do, rather than a jail sentence. Once the day came for the surgery, she was there every step of the way, from getting me ready to go to the OR, explaining what was going on and what was going to happen next. Once the spinal failed, she then stepped up again to get my husband up to date and calmed down. Kathy held my hand as I was panicking when they were trying to put me asleep. I asked her to make sure they took good care of my baby when they put me to sleep.
When I got back to the room, she was there and made sure I knew the baby was good. During these 2 weeks, Kathy made being in the hospital for a total of 17 days go by without feeling like I was in jail. I would choose Jackson Hospital every day and try to get all my friends to choose Jackson just in the hopes of getting Kathy as a nurse again. The love I have for her and what she did for me during the difficult time will never be forgotten, and I want everyone to know that she was the most wonderful person to take care of patients and will go above and beyond to make sure her patients are comfortable and treated like family. She represents everything that this Award stands for and is the most deserving. She did all of this without any thought of herself. I am hoping that she gets the recognition that she deserves.

**This is Kathy's 2nd DAISY Award!