Athena Neverdahl
October 2017
Athena
Neverdahl
,
RN
Labor and Delivery
Lutheran Medical Center (CO)
Wheat Ridge
,
CO
United States

 

 

 

I arrived at the hospital with a placental abruption and had to deliver via emergency C-section. I was in a lot of pain and obviously terrified. My previous pregnancies were delivered on time with no complications so this was all new to me, I had never had any kind of surgery before.
Once in the OR, my anxiety was at an all-time high and I was worried about my baby. My husband was not able to be in the OR yet and they were administering the spinal block to numb me. Not being able to feel my legs sent me into freak out mode. Athena grabbed my hand and began talking to me. She applied a wet washcloth to my face to cool me down. Her calming voice and soothing ways definitely got me through all of that. Once my baby was born she kept me updated on all they were doing with him and how he was doing so well. My husband went with him to the NICU and Athena stayed by my side until the surgery was over and held my hand as they wheeled me to recovery. She had already stayed 2 hours past her shift so it was definitely time for her to go home.
She was my angel during this unexpected event, I really feel like I wouldn't have got through it as well as I did had it not been for her staying with me. This speaks volumes, to her, I wasn't just another patient. She treated me as if I was her own family. She is a wonderful nurse and definitely in the right line of work. The passion she has for her job and her patients is incredible.