Amanda L Kobel
May 2026
Amanda L
Kobel
,
RN
Labor & Delivery
Baptist Health Louisville
Louisville
,
KY
United States
Amanda would constantly jump between the medical professional side and the human personal side to comfort my wife and answer our questions.
My wife was a patient of Baptist Health Louisville in the Labor & Delivery area. Due to having a baby girl any day now. Things were going smoothly as she slowly eased into labor. Eventually, her water broke, and her contractions became overwhelmingly intense, and she was only 4cm dilated.
My wife has a genetic condition called Neurofibromatosis. This condition causes tumors to form at the ends of nerves throughout her body. Up until this point, we thought there would be no issues with pregnancy. Having met with a high-risk doctor and been told all was good, we proceeded forward, thinking she could get an epidural. In the middle of her contractions, she decided she couldn't wait any longer and wanted an epidural, only to find out from the anesthesiologist that it couldn't be done because they go directly into a nerve ending and did not have an MRI to ensure there was no tumor. This is where things started to unfold. That sudden news, combined with extreme pain, put my wife into a state of stress and mental strain that was unsustainable. Additionally, our baby's heart rate began to dip. We ended up doing an emergency C-section.
When you are going through a traumatic experience, having an experienced, confident, and comforting professional by your side is unbelievable. I truly cannot put into words the impact Amanda had on my wife, myself, and our precious baby girl. Amanda would constantly jump between the medical professional side and the human personal side to comfort my wife and answer our questions. She used her knowledge and her own experience to guide my wife through what was going to happen. My wife even reached out at one point and asked to hold Amanda's hand while Amanda was having a contraction. She was with us all through the C-section procedure, comforting and guiding us along the way. As with most people in a situation like that, it was a blur for my wife and for me, but I could so clearly tell Amanda was part of our team that day when, after the C-section, she was in our room and said, "I told myself I wouldn't cry today" as she conducted her job with the utmost care and professionalism. With her care and compassion, we felt as though my wife was the most important person in the world to her, and I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award.
My wife has a genetic condition called Neurofibromatosis. This condition causes tumors to form at the ends of nerves throughout her body. Up until this point, we thought there would be no issues with pregnancy. Having met with a high-risk doctor and been told all was good, we proceeded forward, thinking she could get an epidural. In the middle of her contractions, she decided she couldn't wait any longer and wanted an epidural, only to find out from the anesthesiologist that it couldn't be done because they go directly into a nerve ending and did not have an MRI to ensure there was no tumor. This is where things started to unfold. That sudden news, combined with extreme pain, put my wife into a state of stress and mental strain that was unsustainable. Additionally, our baby's heart rate began to dip. We ended up doing an emergency C-section.
When you are going through a traumatic experience, having an experienced, confident, and comforting professional by your side is unbelievable. I truly cannot put into words the impact Amanda had on my wife, myself, and our precious baby girl. Amanda would constantly jump between the medical professional side and the human personal side to comfort my wife and answer our questions. She used her knowledge and her own experience to guide my wife through what was going to happen. My wife even reached out at one point and asked to hold Amanda's hand while Amanda was having a contraction. She was with us all through the C-section procedure, comforting and guiding us along the way. As with most people in a situation like that, it was a blur for my wife and for me, but I could so clearly tell Amanda was part of our team that day when, after the C-section, she was in our room and said, "I told myself I wouldn't cry today" as she conducted her job with the utmost care and professionalism. With her care and compassion, we felt as though my wife was the most important person in the world to her, and I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award.