I went into St. Luke's Hospital Anderson Campus to be induced for the birth of my first child. My husband and I were so excited! We got admitted into the hospital on the L&D floor late on Friday night. By Saturday morning, induction was in full swing and going beautifully. We were introduced very early Saturday morning to our nurse for the day - Lexi.

Lexi was kind, compassionate, funny, understanding, and personable. She clicked with my husband and I immediately. She quelled my fears as a first-time mom and made the entire day TRULY enjoyable. Even with the pain of labor, she made the day a breeze. She was in my room constantly helping to reposition me, turn me, make sure I was comfortable, etc. She was helpful in teaching my husband what to expect during the whole process. I'm sure she was busy, but she always made us feel like we were her only priority. My induction went beautifully, and soon, it was time to push. Everything was going great, and my daughter was ready to make her entrance into the world. That's when things got truly scary.

In a matter of a few minutes, my doctor calmly told me that she thought my daughter had shoulder dystocia and would need assistance to be safely birthed. Things went from 0 to 60 in the matter of a few seconds. The ENTIRE team at Anderson jumped into place. Within seconds, there were probably 20 people in the room, including the NICU team, the OR staff, the charge nurses, PCAs, multiple OB/GYNs, residents, and, of course - Lexi. Lexi was such a bright spot in an absolutely terrifying 30 minutes. From the time my daughter's shoulder dystocia was identified to the time she was able to be birthed, it was a little over a minute. Multiple medical maneuvers were performed by the OB/GYN physician, and Lexi helped the physician out the entire time. She was expertly turning me, repositioning me, trying various maneuvers, all while keeping track of the time that my daughter was going without oxygen. She was calm, cool, and collected - even in the face of what I now know is considered a true obstetric emergency. I am sure that Lexi must have been terrified - but she didn't show it once. Not only did she keep a cool and calm demeanor as she assisted the doctors, but she was my port in the storm for my husband and me.

After a terrifying minute, my daughter was assisted out of me. She was immediately taken over to the NICU infant warmer to be evaluated and resuscitated. While the neonatologist was saving my daughter's life, Lexi was saving mine. I was hysterical at this point and unsure of what was going on with my child. Lexi grabbed my hand and continued to reassure both my panicked husband and myself that my daughter M was being taken care of and would be okay. Lexi's shift ended at 7 pm, but she stayed til almost 9 pm to make sure that M, myself, and my husband were well taken care of. It was the most traumatic and upsetting 30 minutes of our entire lives, and we could not have made it through without Lexi.

She came into work the next day, Sunday, and immediately came and visited my husband, myself, and our healthy daughter. We truly believe that the outcome of the day could have gone differently had we not had Lexi. What an asset to the St. Luke's staff and the entire nursing department. During the day she told us that she was almost finished getting her Nurse Practitioner Degree and would be working in Maternal Fetal Medicine - what a great blessing and asset to the field that she will be. I'll never ever forget her, and neither will my husband and daughter M. Recognizing her as a DAISY nurse is the least I can do to show my appreciation for her saving my daughter's life.