I recently gave birth at Jacob's for the second time and Mary was my L&D nurse the morning that I delivered. The difference Mary had on my birth was incredible. She was a nurse coordinator and doula wrapped in one simultaneously monitoring me and my baby ensuring that the proper medical staff came to my room as needed (often urgently) and coaching me through intense contractions while I received my epidural. My labor became precipitous after my water broke and I hadn't received my epidural yet. She listened to me when I swore my baby was coming even though a doctor had just told me I was 4cm. She heard my fears about not having pain meds yet and the possibility of having to push before my epidural. I'm not sure how she did it, but she had anesthesiology in there immediately and I got my epidural just in time. She also developed a strong level of rapport with me that made me feel so safe. A few hours earlier she was a stranger, but she literally held me as I leaned into her during contractions all the while telling me how incredible my body was and how I could do this. Every step of the way I could tell my husband "Call Mary" and we could trust that she was there for us and our baby. Even after birth as I did all the not-so-dignified things like walking to the toilet for the first time, Mary made me feel totally normal safe, and empowered.

All of the UCSD nurses are fantastic but Mary made us feel like she was 100% invested in our birth experience. She left me with parting words about how incredible it is that I knew what my body would do, and she clearly holds a strong admiration for the miracle of childbirth in general. My husband and I sat in our recovery room after just thinking, "Wow she is an amazing nurse." Everyone who has Mary by their side during their L&D experience is truly lucky!

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After years of infertility and pregnancy loss I knew that there would be some anxiety associated with the delivery of my son. While I already had twin toddlers via surrogacy, I had never delivered a baby myself and had been trained time and time again over the years to distrust my body as it had “failed” me time and time again. I am convinced that God assigned Mary Wallace as my nurse as a way to ensure that I would have the most positive safe experience possible after all those years of heartache. The second Mary entered our room my husband and I felt this sense of peace and reassurance. Don’t get me wrong - every single one of our nurses during our stay was absolutely incredible. But at the risk of sounding totally cheesy, I feel like Mary was absolutely meant to be with us when our son entered the world. Just minutes before finding out it was “go-time” I discovered that my father had tested positive for covid. As if finding out your elderly loved one had this virus wasn’t enough, we had been with him a few days before. I tearfully shared this news with Mary immediately and she responded swiftly but with such reassurance and compassion. She told me “you are still going to have the most beautiful birthing experience, don’t you worry about a thing.” And she was right. As I pushed through tears, she was by my side coaching me cheering me on, and sharing in our joy when my son was born.

Immediately following his birth, my husband had to leave to go get tested for covid. Not having my husband there with my son and me after the birth could have been extremely difficult but with Mary by my side, I felt all the love and support in the world. I joke that my L&D nurse was not only my nurse that day - she was also my friend, my coach, my doula, and even my husband for a period of time:) I’ll never forget how cared for I felt that day. She helped to wash me and make me feel human again. As I apologized to her for having to clean up and wipe my blood, she assured me that it was such an honor to help me feel better and I knew she meant it from the bottom of her heart.

She made our “graduation” from the unit so special, and my heart hurt when we had to say goodbye. I could go on and on about how special Mary is - there are too many examples of her true specialness to even count. I will always and forever remember this angel who was sent into my life that day ... the angel who helped me realize my body isn’t broken. And that even with a covid scare, my son’s birth was beyond beautiful. Thank you, Mary. You have a true gift - every patient, friend, and family member of yours is so very lucky to have you in their lives.