We will never forget the amount of kindness and care we experienced

In January of 2020, we were overjoyed to find out we were expecting our first child after only trying for a few short months. In February we had our first ultrasound at 8 weeks where we learned the devastating news that the pregnancy was not normal. A complete molar pregnancy. Our hearts were broken. Countless tests and ultrasound to ultimately have a D&C performed by Dr. Allen. I remember sitting in the pre-op room with my husband and Dr. Allen came in and said to us, “You will have a baby one day. I promise.” She has no idea how much those words affected me.

After the molar pregnancy, I was monitored by Dr. Peterson. He monitored my HCG levels and talked us through some other issues I was having. He cleared us to start trying for a baby again and month after month it didn’t happen for us. I was so discouraged and felt very overwhelmed thinking we would never have a baby of our own. I expressed these concerns to Dr. Peterson and he said he thought I might have PCOS. I had never heard of it but he did a great job explaining what it was. He suggested we try Femara to conceive. He said, “It may not work the first round but we will keep trying.” The time came and went where I took the pills. I had taken a pregnancy test a few DPO and it was negative. I was ok with it because I knew we could just try again. A few days later on Thanksgiving Day, I woke up and something told me to take a test so I did and to my complete surprise it was positive! I was so excited! I called first thing Friday morning to make an appointment.

Our first ultrasound was scheduled and everything was going great! We were so excited. Around 6 weeks I had some bleeding and was told to come in for an ultrasound right away, everything was perfect with the baby. I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

During the care of this pregnancy, the provider I saw most was Jen Soper. I have never felt like a provider cared about me as much as Jen did. She listened to me and I really felt like she cared about my concerns. I have always struggled with depression and anxiety. I told Jen this and she reassured me that I would be ok and they were there for me for whatever I needed.

At 40w5d I went in for an ultrasound to check that everything was good with our sweet boy for the induction we had scheduled for the next day. They found I was low on amniotic fluid and sent us straight to labor and delivery for an induction. After getting settled in and talking to the nurses and the residents they said Dr.Allen would be in soon to check on me. My husband and I looked at each other and I started to cry. How amazing that it was Dr. Allen on shift that day. It felt like everything fell right into place and I was at ease knowing she was there. The induction worked well but our little guy just didn’t want to budge. We ended up going to the next shift and the dr on that shift was Dr. Peterson! We felt at ease again knowing he was there too. I was finally able to get some rest after my epidural. The nurses came in checking on me and changing my position because the baby’s heart rate kept dropping. It seemed like maybe 30 seconds and a decision was made to have a C Section to get him out safely. Foster Michael Hennen was born at 10:29 am on 8/18/2021 and he was perfect.

We were moved to the mother-baby unit with our boy and everything was going ok. As new parents and with me just having surgery, I was overwhelmed and wasn’t sure what to do. I expressed that to my nurses and they were amazing. They kept assuring me that it would come in time and I was doing a great job.

At about 1 am and a few low glucose levels the decision was made to move Foster to the NICU for monitoring. We found that he had some type of an infection and wasn’t eating as he should. We were scared but the residents and nurses helped put us at ease when explaining to us every detail of his care plan. After a few short days in the NICU we were able to bring our baby home!

At this time I want to point out specific people that helped us and I appreciate more than I can express.

Dr. Allen – She told me I would have a baby and she was right. I don’t know if she remembers that conversation but the impact it had on my husband, Sean, and I will forever be in our hearts.

Dr. Peterson – He is the reason we had our boy. Without him really looking deeper into the issues I was having we wouldn’t have our baby in our arms today.

Jen Soper – Jen is truly for the mommas. I felt like she cared so much about me and my well-being. She never made me feel silly for asking questions.

Kathy L&D nurse – Kathy came on in the evening the day I was admitted. I am in tears writing this. When I was getting my epidural she held me and kept telling me it was going to be ok. She didn’t even budge when I leaned my head into her. She made me feel at peace in such a vulnerable time. Thank you so much for that.

Keely (I believe was her name) L&D nurse – she was the nurse the morning of my c-section. I was so exhausted and felt so out of it. I kept apologizing because I felt helpless after my epidural. She reassured me everything was fine. She had a calming way about her. That is so important when you feel so vulnerable.

Audrey mother-baby unit nurse – Audrey was so nice to me. She was so caring and helpful. I was overwhelmed with just having a baby, a major surgery, and a baby that went to the NICU. I think she could sense that and would make sure I had everything I needed and more. She listened to me when I cried and I appreciate that.

Mylynn NICU nurse – Mylynn made it a little easier to leave Foster. She made sure she answered all of our questions and made us laugh too while we were feeling a little sad. We appreciate her.

Heather NICU nurse – heather was Foster’s day nurse the last two days of his stay. She was so helpful and taught us a lot of things. She reassured us that as new parents we would be ok.

Naomi NICU nurse – Naomi was incredible in helping Sean gain confidence feeding Foster. He had never fed a baby before and was super nervous and wasn’t sure how to go about it. She gave him techniques to help pace Foster and really gave Sean the confidence.

There are endless amounts of staff we encountered that we were truly in awe of. Thank you to all of the staff at Bronson OB/GYN and associated and Bronson Hospital. We will never forget the amount of kindness and care we experienced.