In February, my wife gave birth to our first child at Decatur Morgan Hospital. We wanted to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude for the excellent experience we had at your hospital. It was so much more than we had even hoped for. When we first found out that we were expecting, we were so excited but had mixed emotions about where to deliver.

We live in Hartselle, so Decatur Morgan was definitely more convenient, even though we had a lot of friends our age who highly recommended Madison. I was born at Decatur Morgan, and my Mom is a director there. She highly encouraged us to come tour the unit and meet Marie Burgess. We did that, and Marie was so patient with us and took the time to answer all our questions. We immediately knew that Decatur Morgan was the place where we would be meeting our son.

We came in one evening to get prepared for an induction. Our baby was monitored throughout the night. Marie came in often to check on my wife and have her change positions. Immediately, Marie knew something just wasn't right. She didn't like what she was seeing on the monitor and stayed in close contact with our wonderful physician.

I asked her what the problem could be, and she explained that it was a possibility of the cord being wrapped around his foot or even his neck. I was concerned, but Marie assured me that she would be watching our baby all night and that my wife and I should get some rest. What a comfort to know that the Lord was watching over our baby, and He had sent us an angel in Marie to watch over him as well.

The next day was difficult. My wife was having strong contractions but wasn't progressing well, and a C-section was performed. Just like Marie thought, the cord was wrapped around his neck, not once, but twice. We are so thankful to the Doctor who was so attentive and to Marie who stayed with us throughout the entire C-section.

We were blessed that day with a beautiful and healthy baby boy. Let me say that everyone who entered our room was so kind and compassionate. The nursing staff were excellent. We have told all our friends, family, church family, and anyone who will listen about the top-notch care that we received at Decatur Morgan Hospital. We definitely will be using them again when we decide to have our next baby.

In closing, we follow Decatur Morgan on Facebook and see where nurses receive the DAISY Award. We understand that this award is presented to a nurse who goes above and beyond. Like I said, all of the nurses were excellent, but Marie Burgess went over and beyond and continued to go over and beyond during our stay.