Emily Hansen, RN

I want to extend my deepest thanks to Emily, who took care of me during the delivery of my daughter, M. Of course, it's an incredible, monumental occasion anytime a baby enters the world, but M is an IVF baby who took three years to conceive, so prior to delivery, I had a lot of time to visualize how I hoped her delivery would go. I would have loved a doula to be present during delivery as I had with my first child, but after all the expenses of infertility treatment, I opted to forego that out-of-pocket cost. How incredibly lucky for me that I was assigned Emily, who was a doula prior to becoming a Labor & Delivery nurse!
I wanted to deliver without an epidural, and Emily was so supportive. She talked to me like she believed I could do it, and like she was on my team to help me through it. I felt so anxious during induction with my first child. For my induction with M, Emily made me laugh and feel so at ease and empowered. It was almost fun! She asked thorough questions and really listened. She was so thoughtful in how she presented information and options. In short, she made me feel really safe. My placenta wouldn't release after delivery. Manual removal didn't work. I was hemorrhaging and had to have a D&C. Of course, no one wants to have any unexpected complications after their delivery, but I felt so seen and held by Emily. She stayed to make sure that I was okay after I came back from surgery, which was so helpful because shift change happened while I was in recovery, and it was an immense kindness to see a familiar face after the disorientation of being separated from my baby for an unplanned surgery.
The next day, Emily was at the hospital for a retirement party and went out of her way to stop by to check on my husband and me, and held space to process some of what happened after delivery. It was an incredible kindness that I will remember forever. Every time I recount my birth story, I talk about Emily and how incredibly grateful I am for her. I tell people I must have done something right in this life that Emily was assigned as my nurse. I think there is another world where M's birth could have felt really traumatic, but all I feel is immense gratitude that I had the medical team I did when something unexpected happened. It's Emily most especially who stands out for me. I felt so safe with her and am so grateful. There was not a single second where I felt like just another patient with Emily. She was so present in caring for me, and I felt my humanity was centered the whole way through with her care, which was profoundly healing after a challenging infertility journey where I often felt faceless and at the mercy of an unfeeling medical system. Thank you, Emily. People like you make the world feel like a good place.