Katie Heilman
September 2025
Katie
Heilman
,
RN
Birth Suites
SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital - Madison
Madison
,
WI
United States
Katie explained things very well to me and made me feel like things were going to be okay.
My water broke at 20 weeks pregnant. I was admitted to St. Mary’s at 23 weeks. I’m not sure if Katie remembers this, but we met that day. She placed my IV successfully. But I’m not nominating Katie for the DAISY Award for that, although I really did appreciate how smoothly that went!
At 30 weeks and 1 day, I was moved down to labor and delivery because I was having contractions and a lot of bleeding. Katie was my nurse. She made me feel as comfortable as I could given the circumstances. I was told that it was likely that my placenta was detaching due to the way my contractions were showing up on the monitor. Katie explained things very well to me and made me feel like things were going to be okay. She made me feel confident in the team, helping me and my baby.
Things started to go south pretty quickly when my baby’s heart rate was dropping on the monitor. A lot of people came into the room, and I was wheeled into the operating room for an emergency C-section. When I woke up, Katie was in the room. She told me everything went well and that our baby, N, was okay. We planned on going to the NICU so I could see N for the first time. When we arrived in the NICU, I was pushed into the room while still in my bed. I could tell by the look on everyone’s faces and just how N looked that something wasn’t right. I was wheeled out of the room quickly and sat in the hallway while my son coded. Katie had no idea that things had started to regress for him. The last time she spoke to the NICU staff, she hadn’t heard anything about him starting to decline.
She asked me if I wanted to stay in the hallway or go to my room. I decided to stay in the hallway with her and my husband. This was such a difficult moment. I really thought that at any moment a doctor would come up to me and tell me that he didn’t make it. Katie watched and updated me as much as she could, while comforting my husband and me. I will never forget her kindness and empathy. She gave me hope in that moment.
Thankfully, everything turned out ok for N. That was his most eventful day in the NICU. I am so thankful Katie and I crossed paths. She was there on the hardest day of my life. She made me feel safe, hopeful, and cared for. She’s someone I will never forget.
Thank you – I hope someday our paths cross again and you can meet N outside the NICU.
At 30 weeks and 1 day, I was moved down to labor and delivery because I was having contractions and a lot of bleeding. Katie was my nurse. She made me feel as comfortable as I could given the circumstances. I was told that it was likely that my placenta was detaching due to the way my contractions were showing up on the monitor. Katie explained things very well to me and made me feel like things were going to be okay. She made me feel confident in the team, helping me and my baby.
Things started to go south pretty quickly when my baby’s heart rate was dropping on the monitor. A lot of people came into the room, and I was wheeled into the operating room for an emergency C-section. When I woke up, Katie was in the room. She told me everything went well and that our baby, N, was okay. We planned on going to the NICU so I could see N for the first time. When we arrived in the NICU, I was pushed into the room while still in my bed. I could tell by the look on everyone’s faces and just how N looked that something wasn’t right. I was wheeled out of the room quickly and sat in the hallway while my son coded. Katie had no idea that things had started to regress for him. The last time she spoke to the NICU staff, she hadn’t heard anything about him starting to decline.
She asked me if I wanted to stay in the hallway or go to my room. I decided to stay in the hallway with her and my husband. This was such a difficult moment. I really thought that at any moment a doctor would come up to me and tell me that he didn’t make it. Katie watched and updated me as much as she could, while comforting my husband and me. I will never forget her kindness and empathy. She gave me hope in that moment.
Thankfully, everything turned out ok for N. That was his most eventful day in the NICU. I am so thankful Katie and I crossed paths. She was there on the hardest day of my life. She made me feel safe, hopeful, and cared for. She’s someone I will never forget.
Thank you – I hope someday our paths cross again and you can meet N outside the NICU.