Our family and new baby nominate Monica for the DAISY Award. We would not have had such wonderful memories to take with us of our first birth without her help.

We first met Monica when I came into the Maternity Ward to be checked, and she was kind enough to explain things to me. I was not due for two weeks, but little did I know that I would be back the next day giving birth to our son. Thank goodness Monica was also working the labor shift and helped me manage the contractions early on. Shortly, I was taken to the labor room, and it was at this point that I really needed her assistance. As this was my first pregnancy, I craved direction for what to expect next. Monica was phenomenal in describing the pain and what I needed to be aware of for the safety of my baby and myself. She informed me of pain med options but was sensitive to our desire to have a natural childbirth. Monica taught my fiance some ways to relieve my pain w/massage, all the while breathing with me during contractions.

It became difficult for me, and I worried for our son's safety. Monica did not take a break but stayed by our side and assisted. She described the next steps to me which helped me tremendously. I cannot express how much Monica provided for my peace of mind. Just to know everything was normal and that she was monitoring our progress, gave me total confidence to allow the natural process.

I could not have had the determination that I needed to persevere without Monica's help. It was so nice to see her smile the next night as my nurse again. She offered to watch our son for a couple of hours in the middle of the night so we could get some rest, something we were comfortable only with this nurse! We accepted her offer.

Monica deserves all the recognition of the DAISY Award and more because of the compassion for our son, for me, and for our family during our entire stay. We can't stop talking about how wonderful the experience was for us because of Monica's support!