November 2024
Danielle
Koster
,
RN
Obstetrics & Gynecology
South Shore University Hospital
Bay Shore
,
NY
United States
If it were not for our nurse, Danielle, advocating for him the way she did, C would have had permanent colon issues, or he could have died.
My wife and I were blessed to welcome our beautiful baby boy, C, into this world. Although he was 3 weeks early, he came barreling into this world weighing in at 7lbs 10oz. Our care in labor and delivery was stellar and our care on mother/baby was just as amazing. Every SNA, EVS worker, resident, physician, and nurse who took part in our care was exceptional.
However, there is one person who has left a profound impact on our family, and we will forever be indebted to her. She is our family's hero. The hero we are talking about was our nurse, Danielle Koster. C's delivery was a fairly normal C-Section. We had as good a first night as anyone could after having a C-Section. On night two, we were introduced to our night nurse, Danielle. We did not think we would need her much because this is our second baby, and we were familiar with the post-partum world. However, upon her assessment of C, she noticed some minimal retraction with his breathing. She also noticed that our child had not had a bowel movement without any type of stimulation. So, she decided to be proactive, and she grabbed a pulse ox, and although his vitals were stable, she called the pediatrician to come see him.
When the pediatrician arrived, the retraction had stopped and after a thorough examination by the pediatrician, she felt that all was fine with C but would repeat bilirubin levels since they were on the higher side initially. C had a good day the next day and did have a bowel movement, but this was only after another stimulation. On night 3 of our admission, C started having breathing retraction again after a heavy feeding. We had the same night nurse, Danielle. She grabbed the pulse ox again, and his levels dipped a bit, so she recommended that I do some skin-to-skin contact. She then called the pediatrician again and requested that the pediatrician order an x-ray, as C's belly started to look distended. The x-ray was unremarkable, and his oxygen levels went back to normal, so we thought he was just really full after his feeding. The pediatrician left, but Danielle kept checking in on us every 30 minutes to ensure C was still doing well.
Now we are brought to our final night in mother/baby. C still has not had a bowel movement on his own. Danielle was our night nurse again and she said he had to have a bowel movement before she left work. My wife and I did not think much of him not having a bowel movement, we thought "he's constipated, or he doesn't poop much, no big deal." However, he had another heavy feeding that evening and C spit up a bit. She noticed his belly was getting even more distended than it was the night before and his retraction started going more severely. Danielle immediately called the pediatrician again to come. She checked his blood work, and it looked like his bilirubin levels were increasing. At this time, my wife and I were starting to get nervous about what was going on. I remember looking at Danielle with tears in my eyes, asking if C was going to be okay. She held our hands through the ordeal and provided us with the reassurance and emotional support we needed.
After the x-ray came back, a new pediatrician came on. The new pediatrician consulted with Danielle, examined C, and ultimately decided, due to the lack of bowel movements and belly distention, it would be best to admit him to the NICU, then transfer him to Cohen's Children's Medical Center, as she was suspecting he could have Hirschsprung's Disease.
Upon our arrival to NICU, C started to decline rapidly. His oxygen levels dropped to the 80s, they put him on high flow, had to pump his stomach to remove any food in his belly as that was causing the difficulty breathing, and he was severely dehydrated. After arriving at Cohen's and after several stressful days of diagnostic testing, it was determined that the C did in fact have Hirschsprung's Disease. Hirschsprung's Disease is rare. Studies show it occurs in 1 out of every 10,000 babies. The fact that Danielle was able to pick up his symptoms and escalate in the time she did, shows just how good of a nurse she is. C ended up being treated at Cohen's, had surgery and is now a growing and thriving 4-month-old. We had a positive outcome with our child. However, C was on the verge of having a bowel rupture. If it were not for our nurse, Danielle, advocating for him the way she did, C would have had permanent colon issues, or he could have died. We are eternally grateful for Danielle, for her advocacy and compassionate care that she gave us while on mother/baby.
However, there is one person who has left a profound impact on our family, and we will forever be indebted to her. She is our family's hero. The hero we are talking about was our nurse, Danielle Koster. C's delivery was a fairly normal C-Section. We had as good a first night as anyone could after having a C-Section. On night two, we were introduced to our night nurse, Danielle. We did not think we would need her much because this is our second baby, and we were familiar with the post-partum world. However, upon her assessment of C, she noticed some minimal retraction with his breathing. She also noticed that our child had not had a bowel movement without any type of stimulation. So, she decided to be proactive, and she grabbed a pulse ox, and although his vitals were stable, she called the pediatrician to come see him.
When the pediatrician arrived, the retraction had stopped and after a thorough examination by the pediatrician, she felt that all was fine with C but would repeat bilirubin levels since they were on the higher side initially. C had a good day the next day and did have a bowel movement, but this was only after another stimulation. On night 3 of our admission, C started having breathing retraction again after a heavy feeding. We had the same night nurse, Danielle. She grabbed the pulse ox again, and his levels dipped a bit, so she recommended that I do some skin-to-skin contact. She then called the pediatrician again and requested that the pediatrician order an x-ray, as C's belly started to look distended. The x-ray was unremarkable, and his oxygen levels went back to normal, so we thought he was just really full after his feeding. The pediatrician left, but Danielle kept checking in on us every 30 minutes to ensure C was still doing well.
Now we are brought to our final night in mother/baby. C still has not had a bowel movement on his own. Danielle was our night nurse again and she said he had to have a bowel movement before she left work. My wife and I did not think much of him not having a bowel movement, we thought "he's constipated, or he doesn't poop much, no big deal." However, he had another heavy feeding that evening and C spit up a bit. She noticed his belly was getting even more distended than it was the night before and his retraction started going more severely. Danielle immediately called the pediatrician again to come. She checked his blood work, and it looked like his bilirubin levels were increasing. At this time, my wife and I were starting to get nervous about what was going on. I remember looking at Danielle with tears in my eyes, asking if C was going to be okay. She held our hands through the ordeal and provided us with the reassurance and emotional support we needed.
After the x-ray came back, a new pediatrician came on. The new pediatrician consulted with Danielle, examined C, and ultimately decided, due to the lack of bowel movements and belly distention, it would be best to admit him to the NICU, then transfer him to Cohen's Children's Medical Center, as she was suspecting he could have Hirschsprung's Disease.
Upon our arrival to NICU, C started to decline rapidly. His oxygen levels dropped to the 80s, they put him on high flow, had to pump his stomach to remove any food in his belly as that was causing the difficulty breathing, and he was severely dehydrated. After arriving at Cohen's and after several stressful days of diagnostic testing, it was determined that the C did in fact have Hirschsprung's Disease. Hirschsprung's Disease is rare. Studies show it occurs in 1 out of every 10,000 babies. The fact that Danielle was able to pick up his symptoms and escalate in the time she did, shows just how good of a nurse she is. C ended up being treated at Cohen's, had surgery and is now a growing and thriving 4-month-old. We had a positive outcome with our child. However, C was on the verge of having a bowel rupture. If it were not for our nurse, Danielle, advocating for him the way she did, C would have had permanent colon issues, or he could have died. We are eternally grateful for Danielle, for her advocacy and compassionate care that she gave us while on mother/baby.