In recognition of National Nurses Week
I remember that day so well. I turned the corner on the way to labor and delivery and caught your eye. You flashed a big smile and said, “Go to room 13. I’m your nurse.
” But your smile quickly faded when you saw my face. You knew I was worried. You knew something was wrong.You quickly got me dressed and placed on the monitors. I was contracting. I was hurting. We both knew it was too early. I was trying not to cry, but I was scared. I could tell you were scared, too.
I was only 22 weeks pregnant with my twin babies.
You knew me as the strong, tough Dr. Clark. I was the doctor who worked alongside you on labor and delivery. The doctor who had delivered babies with you for the past thirteen years. The doctor who at age 42 desperately wanted to become a mother herself. The doctor who was finally pregnant after two years of infertility.
And now I was your patient. The patient who was vulnerable and afraid. The patient who was looking to you to make things better. The patient who for a moment forgot she was a doctor. The patient who didn’t want to lose her babies at 22 weeks.
I remember finally waking up from the medications that made me sleep. The contractions had stopped, and I was still pregnant. I had made it another day. From that moment on all I could do was hope for one more day. One more day to let my babies grow. One more day to increase their chance of survival.
Just one more day.
You will never know just how much you did for me that day or how much seeing your face gave me the strength to get through the most difficult time in my life. You will never know just how much you being there as my nurse meant to me. But it was you―my colleague, my nurse, my friend—who got me through the next 55 days in the hospital.
So thank you.
Thank you for coming into my room each day with a smile on your face even when I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. When I wanted to do anything but smile. When I felt fear and worry creeping in. You made each day a little bit better. You kept me going.
After days of being on medications and being in bed, my…
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