A Very Special Bond

I was only 21 years old when I started my nursing career. I love babies. They have a very special place in my heart. I specialized in Maternal and Newborn Nursing. I have delivered and assisted more than 2000 babies for my nine years and a half year of working. Those years were so fulfilling though there were so many sleepless nights, stress and hardships along the way. It was all worth it. I developed and gain many relationships outside my shell.

Many patients have touched my lives. I have a specific patient that I have a very special bond with from the first year of my career until now. We became best friends. Her name is Juvy. She is a very sweet person and thoughtful.

I first met her when she was pregnant with her second baby. I did her prenatal check-ups and eventually delivered her baby. It was during her labor I met her husband. He was kind of an introvert person. It was a little bit hard on my part to connect with him. But later on, we were all had great communication and relationship during the birth process. At first, he didn't want to be at the birth for he was scared. I convinced him to be there with her wife as their baby comes out. Everything went well. They had a first baby boy.

During the postpartum period, I went to her house for mother and baby check-up when she cannot come for their scheduled check-up. After many months, I was not able to visit her because of my hectic schedule. Her family moved to another place. I thought we will never see each other again.

One year after, I was so surprised when they visited me at the clinic. I felt so blessed because they still remembered me. It was the greatest visit I had with my patient. My relationship with them grew stronger as time went by. Until she got pregnant with her third baby, I cared for her from pregnancy, labor, and delivery through the postpartum period. She did hemorrhage and was in the state of hypovolemic shock. Together with other members of the team, we did everything we can to save her life. In the back of my mind, I thought she will never make it. It was so hard for me because I did not treat her as a patient but as an older sister. I never let her see or feel how scared I was as it was the right thing to do as a nurse. It is very hard when someone you love is experiencing life and death situation. I did manual exploration and got out some placental fragments and blood clots. Then I did internal bimanual compression for a long time because of uterine atony. She was injected with Pitocin and was on double line IV fluids. She lost a total of 1500cc + blood.

Thank God she recovered well. We talked about it and both Juvy and her husband told me how grateful they were for having me and my team in those critical times. I told them how I felt about it and they shared with me that even she was on the verge of death, she was confident because I was there with her. In that very moment, I really wanted to cry so hard. I was so touched. That incident brought us closer together and to God.

I emphasized to them about not having another baby so soon because of the bad obstetrical history. After 2 years, she got pregnant with her fourth baby. By the Grace of God, she delivered normally without complications. I was on vacation during that time but I chose to be back at work just to deliver her baby.

Just 2 years ago, she delivered her fifth baby. We were praying that she will have her baby before or after our "Team Fun day". Indeed, she delivered a few hours before we left for our Fun day. I had no sleep at all. She labored all night and she bled a few hours after she gave birth. I did manual exploration and got out 500 ccs of blood clots. That was a very painful procedure but Juvy endured it. After that procedure, the bleeding was controlled then I left for the fun. I was so exhausted but it was really worth it. It was so fulfilling. After our whole day activities, I discharged them. I felt extra special when they named their baby after me.

This family does not really know exactly how much they touched and changed my life. They have shown me extra love and affection. Because of them, I feel so extra special and extraordinary as a person. They let me feel that I have a special place in their lives. They taught me how to love other people more without expecting in return. My life would have not been so blessed without them as a part of it. I will never ever trade my relationship with them to anything. Until now, we communicate with each other through texting, calling, and home visits. I am looking forward to spending time with them for a few days.