Have you ever felt like you had a guardian angel at your bedside?
“On the night of September 12, my sweet Ruthie Marie’s birthday, I had a Guardian Angel by my side, and her name was Cassidy. Ironically enough, my name is also Cassidy, and God put her as my nurse for a reason,” says Cassidy Gross, RN.
A nurse on the IU Health Bloomington Acuity Adaptable unit, Gross is used to caring for others. But she’s thankful this fellow nurse was there on that chilly fall day to help when everything started going wrong.
The birth was “near perfect,” in Gross’s words. Then, she was moved into her postpartum room and introduced to Cassidy Barton, RN.
“I knew there was something special about this nurse,” says Gross. “Cassidy was attentive and compassionate as she walked me through my earliest hours of motherhood.”
Then, around midnight, the new mother had a postpartum hemorrhage.
Within seconds, a team was there with Barton and a midwife at the helm. Gross says that teamwork saved her life.
“Cassidy never left my side and acted on this critical situation like she had done it hundreds of times,” the new mother says.
It wasn’t until later she found out this was Barton’s first postpartum hemorrhage.
Barton says, “When the medical emergency occurred, I was honestly scared. It was my first experience dealing with this particular medical emergency. I knew what I needed to do and did what was best for my patient, and her outcome was the best outcome she could have had.”
“As a clinical advisor, I was so proud of her for stepping up to the plate and not letting any of her anxiety and fear show through,” says Gross.
“I hope this encourages other nurses to trust their gut and lean on their education,” continues Barton. “I also hope it shows that some of the scariest moments we walk through as nurses have a purpose, and God has a plan.”
After the scare, Barton would come in for frequent checks with a smiling face and a willingness to help with anything the family needed—including holding the new baby to give the new, sleep-deprived parents a bit of a break.
Their nurse also made sure to come by on their last day in the hospital, even though she was off the clock.
“I wanted to check in on them and make sure that they knew that they, along with their sweet baby girl, were loved and cared for,” explains Barton.
“Cassidy, thank you for your compassionate care,” says Gross. “Although my birth plan definitely didn’t go to plan, I feel that you played a huge part in making me feel safe.”
The experience compelled Gross to nominate Barton for the DAISY Award, and she was excited to be at the surprise award presentation earlier this January alongside Barton’s parents, who traveled from Alabama to be there.
