Courtney Fogle
March 2025
Courtney
Fogle
,
RN
Women's Services
Ascension Providence
Waco
,
TX
United States
She gave me a safe place to share my grief at the loss of my nephew.
My sister in law called me one evening, crying that her water broke and she was on the way to the ER. Normally, that would be a time to get excited to meet our new addition. Unfortunately, she was only 16 weeks pregnant. She spent the evening in the ED as they determined there was nothing she could do but go home and wait to deliver.
The next morning, she could feel the cord prolapsing, so she came into labor and delivery. The staff was so kind and gentle during her delivery. My nephew was born weighing 3.9oz and was 6.5 inches long. My sister in law had to go to the OR to fix a small complication, and when that happened, Courtney rushed to my side to see if I was ok. At that moment, I was in nurse mode and was still feeling like a semi-detached caregiver. I asked Courtney if there was a way to make the baby look a little better so we could take some pictures and spend time with him. She explained that she, too, had lost a baby early on, and that spurred her on to take a class on fetal demise, including photography. She filled a glass bowl with water, immersed the baby, and he instantly transformed into a beautiful baby boy. She took the most amazing pictures of his little fingers, toes, his precious face, and tiny ears. She wrapped him in the smallest swaddling blanket I’d ever seen, placed a toboggan - no bigger than a large acorn - on his head, and presented him to my sister in law. As my sister in law mourned, Courtney was right there and knew exactly what to say. You should also know, Courtney wasn’t even assigned as our nurse. I watched Crystal weep while Courtney held her, telling her over and over, “This is not your fault, you are a wonderful mother”.
When the trauma of the event hit me in the middle of the night and I broke down in the hallway, Courtney was there to comfort me as well. She gave me a safe place to share my grief at the loss of my nephew. Because of the love and support from Courtney and the rest of the L&D team, we have keepsakes of my nephew that we will treasure forever, including the tiniest foot and hand prints. Since that day, multiple nurses from the team reached out to my sister in law, making sure she didn’t feel alone. As nurses, who are taught to save lives, we are not always prepared for how to deal with death. Courtney beautifully demonstrated the compassion and love of Christ during our darkest day. We will never forget it.
The next morning, she could feel the cord prolapsing, so she came into labor and delivery. The staff was so kind and gentle during her delivery. My nephew was born weighing 3.9oz and was 6.5 inches long. My sister in law had to go to the OR to fix a small complication, and when that happened, Courtney rushed to my side to see if I was ok. At that moment, I was in nurse mode and was still feeling like a semi-detached caregiver. I asked Courtney if there was a way to make the baby look a little better so we could take some pictures and spend time with him. She explained that she, too, had lost a baby early on, and that spurred her on to take a class on fetal demise, including photography. She filled a glass bowl with water, immersed the baby, and he instantly transformed into a beautiful baby boy. She took the most amazing pictures of his little fingers, toes, his precious face, and tiny ears. She wrapped him in the smallest swaddling blanket I’d ever seen, placed a toboggan - no bigger than a large acorn - on his head, and presented him to my sister in law. As my sister in law mourned, Courtney was right there and knew exactly what to say. You should also know, Courtney wasn’t even assigned as our nurse. I watched Crystal weep while Courtney held her, telling her over and over, “This is not your fault, you are a wonderful mother”.
When the trauma of the event hit me in the middle of the night and I broke down in the hallway, Courtney was there to comfort me as well. She gave me a safe place to share my grief at the loss of my nephew. Because of the love and support from Courtney and the rest of the L&D team, we have keepsakes of my nephew that we will treasure forever, including the tiniest foot and hand prints. Since that day, multiple nurses from the team reached out to my sister in law, making sure she didn’t feel alone. As nurses, who are taught to save lives, we are not always prepared for how to deal with death. Courtney beautifully demonstrated the compassion and love of Christ during our darkest day. We will never forget it.