2 /5 Pilar E. Huerta: If you enjoy being gaslighted & feeling like a difficult person, this is the right labor & delivery hospital for you! Shoutout to RN Hang & RN Vivienne for their genuine honesty, letting me know that my request for lidocaine made their jobs difficult (even though an L&D nurse i had seen before first introduced this option to me— RN Raquel had given me lidocaine before trying to stick an IV in my arm earlier that week, & had strongly encouraged me to request lidocaine in the future if I found lidocaine to be helpful in easing my discomfort.)
Here are some of my *favorite* quotes from the incredibly lovely, ever so emphathetic nurses who were supposed to help me during my unplanned c-section to deliver my breech baby:
“Which hurts more, me looking for a vein, or your contractions?” (RN Hang)
~i was 3cm dilated at this point.
“Lidocaine may make you feel better, but it makes my job harder.” (RN Vivienne)
“I didn’t mean to make you feel like you’re not being heard, Im sorry you feel that way.”(RN Vivienne)
~Instead of apologizing for her behavior towards me, it’s obviously my fault for being so sensitive.
“If you want lidocaine, you could request a nurse who does lidocaine, but that isn’t me.” (RN Hang; RN Vivienne)
~is there not a hospital policy concerning nurses’ administration of lidocaine? The inconsistency among nurses is remarkable! Like a box of chocolates!
~And I *did* ask for a nurse who could administer lidocaine, but they sent these amazing nurses instead.
~And since i didn’t want to be difficult during the urgency of prepping me for an unplanned c-section to deliver my breech baby when i was already 3cm dilated, when RN Hang said she could leave (my emergency pre-op) to find a nurse who administers lidocaine, i said that wasnt necessary since i just wanted to get this pre-op process over with so that i wouldnt have to risk delivering my breech baby vaginally, which no OB there was trained to do, so a c section delivery was my only option.
~ after my c-section and starting breastfeeding my first newborn baby, the IV that RN Hang stuck in the corner of my left wrist, fell off.
~ though i asked for lidocaine again prior to haivng another nurse give me another IV, the only nurse who was available at that time was a nurse who did not administer lidocaine either— RN Vivienne. Since she failed to find a proper vein after sticking a needle in my arms multiple times, resulting in a few lovely bruises on both arms, she left.
~ Four (4) hours later, an “IV therapy” nurse comes into my room, without lidocaine, but with an ultrasound. Thankfully he found a vein, but i still never got lidocaine (even though i requested a nurse who could do this, multiple times.)
“If you don’t like how I am working, you can fire me! It’s okay; I don’t mind. *laughs* (RN Vivienne)
~ she said this right before she left.
“You wont need this IV for long anyway, you’re not a c-section…. Oh wait, you are?! I never had a c-section so I keep forgetting. *laughs* (RN Vivienne)
***
But hey, Im obviously just a difficult, entitled patient whose pain tolerance is obviously super weak, so what do I know? Im not a nurse, just a pathetic, entitled, whiney patient. It’s not their fault I was there for an unscheduled c-section (for my breech baby which no one there knew how to deliver vaginally), and since RN Vivienne never had a c-section, it totally makes sense that she would have no idea how i was feeling. (it’s soo presumptuous & entitled of me to assume that these two RNs cared enough about me to listen to me without judgment.
***
Sarcasm aside, im giving this hospital at least two stars— one solid star for the incredible c-section team led by OB Burkhalter, MD, who successfully performed my c-section & delivered my first baby without any complications + another solid star for the postpartum nurses (RN Jamie, RN Chloe, and RN Annalynn) who showed me true empathy & kindness, & listened to me without judgment, making me feel like a human being, instead of a spoiled brat/ diva.
