Name: Teresa MacDermaid

Department: Labor and Birthing

Recipient: March of 2008

Nominated by: Patient - Bethany Parks

This is the award-winning letter sent to Teresa MacDermaid:
I delivered my daughter Eva Lynn Weber on February 18th 2008. I went into labor early on the 17th but didn't realize it until much later that night. After being in labor that long I had to be hooked up to an antibiotic along with pytocin and the iv. I had a catheter and a monitor and was nauseous through the mainly painless delivering process. I slept from 3 in the morning, after my epidural was put in, up until 11:15 a.m. when I started pushing. Teresa stayed with me and handled my crazy families constant questions, she brought me popsicles, water and anything else I wanted. She would wake me up and have me switch sides so the epidural didn't set too much on one side. She was especially impressive after I delivered. The baby was being cleaned and I had to be helped to the bathroom. She guided me and supported me and helped me get cleaned up. I felt terribly humble to the kindness and understanding she gave me at one of the most human and intimate moments of my life. As a new mother, I was scared, embarassed, and exhausted, but Teresa was able to not only help me as a nurse, but to help me as a fellow human and only as another woman could. She deserves this award because she went above and beyond the title of nurse, and rose to hero.