I am a healthcare professional and had my first experience being on the other side as a patient. I had no idea what to expect, but for nine months I had prepared for a long painful labor with our first child. My water broke two days early and the time came for the dreadful labor. From the second I arrived at Memorial Hospital the experience was nothing to dread at all, it was absolutely amazing. There are things about labor that are kept secret (probably for a good reason). My water continued to break at the registration desk and although I was extremely embarrassed the unit clerk made it seem like no big deal.
I was able to go straight to my labor room. From the second I met my nurses and midwife, it was absolutely the best experience. When the pain was unbearable all the nurses were extremely attentive and comforting, however, there was one labor nurse who stood out from them all. Aleea Wiesjahn stayed at my side, kept my fears at bay and communicated every step of the labor process. This not only calmed me, but her expertise kept my husband's nerves at bay too, which can be hard to do in this high stress environment. I inconveniently started pushing at 6:30 am and I knew shift change was happening at 7:00 am. Aleea had come in for a short shift and was going to leave at 7:00 am. She clocked out, yet continued to stay by my side through the hard part of pushing until he was born at 9:34 am. She could have easily left then, but still continued to stay to help clean me up well past her shift. Although the public makes it seem as if nursing is shift work, Aleea showed that is far from the truth. In every ounce of her work, you can tell she is passionate about nursing and her patients. It is nurses like her who make nursing the most trusted healthcare profession.