The day I delivered, I had been at work all morning. I had felt "sick" and was having more unusual symptoms and increased abdominal pain. I tried to push through my pain and symptoms that morning, but then contemplated going home ill for the remainder of the day. My Charge RN Becky Burzynski insisted that I be seen in OB Triage prior to leaving work for home. Becky strongly encouraged me to ask the current OB Triage nurse to actually examine me. I finally agreed and walked over to OB Triage to see who was on duty at the time. I saw Deb Ford sitting in the OB Triage Room, and I felt comfortable enough to ask her for help.
I am sure I came as quite a surprise to her, by just dropping in so unexpectedly. I randomly showed up at the front desk, told her something was wrong and burst into tears. Deb slowly and calmly led me to an exam room and helped me onto the bed. No sooner had she attempted to assess for fetal heart tones, when I told her I felt like my water broke. Deb discovered that it wasn't my water that broke; I was bleeding. She couldn't find heart tones on my baby and became alarmed. She immediately called for help using her zone phone. The exact words of her phone call will always remain in my mind. It was very powerful. Deb doesn't waver easily because of her expertise in her field. So when you see someone like Deb appear to be "shook up," you know there's a good reason. Deb knew exactly what to do. She assembled a team in OB Triage to take me over to the L&D OR. She also prepped me the best she could prior to wheeling me over to the OR. I believe I would have had a very different outcome if Deb had not called for help and prepped me for the OR the way she did.
I delivered my son via C-section due to placental abruption at 12:49 PM. And thanks to Deb's knowledge and experience, there was still time for my husband to arrive at the hospital, to receive spinal analgesic, and to be awake to hear my son be born and cry. (All of which were very meaningful to me, since I had been put under general anesthesia with my first delivery.) The speed at which everyone responded was phenomenal -- the moment Deb made that phone call, everyone just fell into their place.
Deb demonstrated the Aurora Service Commitment Values and helped me have a positive outcome and a good patient experience. My husband, my 5-year-old son, and I have our baby in our lives, in part, thanks to Deb. I'm glad that Deb was working in OB Triage that day. I will always be grateful for her as my coworker and as my friend.