I would like to nominate Morgan from L&D for the DAISY Award. I delivered my first child on 10/17 under her care. Although this is my first child, this was my fifth pregnancy and was an important day several years in the making. My husband and I have experienced many highs and lows in our journey to this day and we were anticipating this day to be the ultimate high. Like many things in life, things do not always go as planned. I was admitted to OSF on Sunday 10/16 midnight to be induced. I began contractions almost immediately, but it was not until 8:45AM on the 17th that I was able to begin pushing. I was lucky to have several nice nurses, but it was during Morgan's shift that my baby was going to make his arrival. I began pushing at 8:45 but it was not until 1:11 that my baby boy actually arrived. I truly do not believe I could have gotten through this day without Morgan. She was very supportive and comforting in dealing with my pain and frustrations. Morgan was also confident and firm in keeping me focused and moving forward. I am so lucky she was because my doctor did not arrive until the last hour or so of this delivery and the OSF obstetrician was assisting a delivery of twins. My care was almost solely in Morgan's hands. There were many times that I thought I could not go on and did not think my baby was going to come out! Morgan had to make important decisions regarding me and my baby's health. She was with me from the beginning to the end. I do not remember her leaving the room longer than a minute which meant no breaks for her either. I put her to the test physically too! During many of my pushes, I was literally pulling on her and she was holding me. I imagine she had to be as exhausted as I was! Well, after all of that pushing, my baby boy finally arrived.
The NICU staff was on hand due to meconium. Turns out, we needed them for more than that. My son's initial APGAR score was only a one. He required some oxygen and was taken to the NICU for an x-ray and some follow-up. Morgan finished the remaining care I needed and she personally pushed me, in my bed, to the NICU as soon as possible. It was almost as if she was as determined as me to see my baby and make sure he was okay. Luckily by the time she got me there, my son was doing okay and was released to the Level II Nursery.
Morgan then wheeled me to my hospital room and to hand off my care, or so she thought. Minutes after my arrival, I began to hemorrhage. Morgan had made it part of the way down the hall, only to return to my aide. A rush of hospital staff filled my room and Morgan continued to be that comfort and strength for me. I had no idea what was happening and was very scared. Morgan continued to have that reassuring nature that helped me through one last scare.
As I stated earlier, our journey to 10/17 was filled with highs and lows. My husband and I had planned on the delivery of our first child to be an ultimate high and thankfully with Morgan's care it was. There were many opportunities for things to go really wrong, but it was as if Morgan would not allow it. I truly do not believe I could have gotten through this without her. Morgan was more than a nurse to me. She was like an angel sent to take care of us. My family and I are truly grateful and will never forget her. The DAISY Award is for extraordinary nurses, who Morgan is; it is for "super-human work", which Morgan did; and for an outstanding role model, which I would love for my son to display some of Morgan's traits someday. To me, Morgan is very deserving of this award.