While the weekend's blizzard was the focus of everyone's attention this past week, the light snow we received last Wednesday night proved to be just as troublesome, resulting in traffic jams lasting for hours. For GW Hospital, it's the story of how one of our nurses helped another that really got our attention.
Claire, RN, Labor and Delivery, was meeting her husband for their usual routine. She drives to work for her night shift, he takes the metro to Foggy Bottom with their 6 month-old baby, they eat dinner and he drives with the baby back home. Claire always provides her husband with an extra bottle of milk for the baby, just in case. However, this past Wednesday, Claire had to give the baby that bottle before he left for home. Neither expected what would happen next.
At around 9:15 p.m., Claire received messages from her husband that he was sitting with his car in park on I-66, still trying to get to their home in Falls Church. Meanwhile, the baby was crying, hungry and without the extra bottle. Claire's colleague, Heidi Bragdon, RN on Labor and Delivery, was leaving her shift at the hospital at that time. Heidi offered to bring Claire's milk to her husband and baby.
Heidi decided, in her extremely determined, extremely maternal spirit, that she was going to go find them on 66, says Claire. Two and a half hours later, she did. Heidi drove to the entrance of I-66 where she had to park her car. She then walked up the on-ramp, bottle in hand, and reached their car at midnight.
This is so typical of Heidi. Nobody was surprised that Heidi did this, Claire says.
After six hours, Claire's husband and baby finally made it home, and with a full stomach thanks to Heidi, their Hero!