As labor and delivery nurses, we are trusted with the most delicate and monumental moments of our patients' lives. What we do is hard. It is sacred and holy and a little magical. But it is hard. Sometimes we cry tears of joy with patients as their lives are forever changed, and they become family. Sometimes we cry tears of sorrow, as we hold their hands and walk them through unimaginable loss. And sometimes we are witnesses to terrible situations that no one else can even imagine.

Some of these moments you carry with you for a lifetime. Last night was one of them. The patient wasn’t mine. But in this business, they all are. We don’t leave our friends and colleagues to do the hardest things alone. And I will carry this one with me forever. But I won't carry the weight of it as much as her nurse will.

I am so proud of the care that Jenn provided this patient in an impossible situation. She kept a critically ill patient safe from harm. She showed respect and understanding to a patient that many would have misunderstood. She did impossible tasks and care, ones that no nurse ever hopes to do. And on a busy night, on a busy unit, in a busy hospital, she did most of it alone. Jenn gave a young, vulnerable, and hurting patient the strength she needed to deliver a baby who would never take a breath earthside. She showed love, respect, and care for a baby that was showing signs of its beautiful and tragic short life.

In my years of experience in Labor and Delivery, this is one of the most heartbreaking, tragic, and complicated cases of a fetal death that I have experienced. It is one I will never forget; it will haunt my heart and mind for years to come. But you may carry it forever. Jenn was at the forefront of this. She showed incredible strength and grace as she provided compassionate and skilled care for this patient. How lucky she was to have Jenn. And how lucky we are to get to work with her.