My husband and I came to Decatur to adopt a baby girl from birth. We developed a cordial, if not close, relationship with the biological mother (whom I will call A for privacy purposes), and so we drove with her and her mother to the hospital. The labor was progressing very quickly, and the bio mother's water broke 5 minutes from the hospital. Glenda received the bio mom at triage. By this time, she was having very strong contractions and was asking for a wheelchair, but Glenda calmly and firmly assured A that walking helps to progress the labor and continued encouraging her as she walked the 30 feet to the room they had prepared for her.

Glenda's demeanor from the start was commanding yet caring, which really helped to calm all of us, especially A. After triage, we were situated in an L&D room. It became clear through Glenda's questioning that A had not received any prenatal care and also had substance abuse issues. Despite the implications of this information, Glenda cast no judgment and continued providing the same level of nurturing care to A. Since this was an unusual birth story, Glenda explicitly asked what both A's and our wishes were and made a point to respect them. A did not want to see the baby or have skin-to-skin contact, and she wanted the baby to room with us for the 48 hours following birth. Glenda ensured that the other staff knew all these details and would carry things out accordingly. She also worked directly with the charge nurse to get us a room under our baby's name.

The birth progressed at lightning speed, but both mom and baby were healthy. Afterward, Glenda gave A a hug and told her that she had done a great job. In the post birth chaos, she asked me for my phone and took pictures of my husband and I next to the baby in the warmer, something that I was too distracted to even think about. Since our daughter was born at exactly 7:00 pm, the change over time for shifts, Glenda gave the new charge nurse an ultimatum: she said she would stay on and finish this case, but only if the charge nurse ensured that the adoption plan was followed to a T and everyone's wishes were respected. This was an enticing offer from the charge nurse since the hospital wing was short-staffed that night. Glenda stayed until midnight, getting both A and us settled. She made sure we had our own room on L&D for skin-to-skin for an hour prior to being moved to the Mother/Baby floor. She made sure that all the Mother and Baby nurses knew the situation and would respect it. She went far above and beyond to make an emotionally and logistically complex situation go smoothly for everyone. We had such an amazing birth experience with our daughter, and this is something we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Thank you, Glenda!