I will start by saying that this nomination is long overdue. Over thirteen years ago, a nurse changed my life forever. I remembered her only as "Ruby." As time passed, I imagined that she may have retired or perhaps moved to work at a different hospital. It wasn't until this past week that I found she is still a Labor and Delivery Nurse here at GBMC. And I finally learned her full name, Ruby Victor. 

During my senior year of high school, I decided that I wanted to become a doctor. I was accepted into York College for their Pre-Medicine program, but one month before I was due to leave for college, I found out that I was pregnant. I was seventeen years old and trying to understand the world when I suddenly had to learn how to be a mother as well. When I went into labor that following February, I was excited---in both the most wonderful and terrifying of ways. I met Ruby that morning, she was so warm, compassionate, attentive, and kind. To Ruby, I wasn't a "child" having a child; she respected me. She asked me what my preferences were and helped me set goals throughout my labor. She held my hand. She encouraged me. And when she rolled the mirror closer to allow me a better view, and I immediately begged her to push it away, she happily obliged (LOL). At 11:43 a.m. on Leap Day, my daughter, O, was born---and she was beautiful! When O was taken over to the warmer and everyone else followed to admire her, Ruby stayed by my side. I heard O's cries and from across the room and simply beamed at the sound. 

My husband looked over his shoulder to smile at me. But then I noticed his face starting to show a growing concern. I was hemorrhaging. When I looked at Ruby, her face was calm yet focused as she assisted the doctor to control my bleeding. My memories over the next couple of hours are hazy, and especially now after thirteen years, but what I vividly remember is Ruby's constant, calming presence. I remember her assurance that both she and the doctor had everything under control and that I would be able to hold my daughter soon. And she was right. The doctor and Ruby had saved my life. 

As I reflect on O's delivery, it wasn’t all the things that didn’t happen as planned that came to mind. Yes, there were the long walks in the hallway to help progress my labor, the pain when my epidural was placed, the newscaster who was excited to film footage of GBMC's first 2012 Leap Day baby, or the postpartum hemorrhage I sustained. It was Ruby, my nurse, who came to mind first. It is Ruby who I will always hold dear to my memory of that morning. 

When I returned to my college campus a couple of weeks after having O, I officially changed my major to Nursing. I wanted to take care of patients the same way Ruby had cared for me. I wanted to positively impact someone's life, to be there for their most wonderful yet possibly their most terrifying moments, just like Ruby had been there for me. I have been a nurse now for almost nine years, and my daughter, who is now thirteen years old, has dreams of becoming a doctor. What a gift it is, after thirteen years, to finally be able to thank Ruby for the lasting impression she had on me. I know that I am only one of many who are blessed by Ruby, even if just for a brief moment of time within her 12-hour shift.