This is a nurse

Post From Tanis

Many years ago I had a "calling" to become an OB nurse. I began my path by teaching childbirth classes and assisting Henrietta Clews C.N.M. at home deliveries. I went to nursing school specifically to be an OB nurse at BHMH, and that is what I have been for the past thirteen years. This is the only kind of nurse I have ever been, and the only kind of nurse I ever want to be. My children and nephew were born there, andI want my grandchildren to be born there too-many years from now! So you see, now that OB at BHMH is on the endangered species list, I am having an impending identity crisis...and our community is too.

Assisting women giving birth and families to transform is a pleasure and a gift that defies definition, and doing birth the Blue Hill way is much more than a job, it is a dying art. Sure there are times when I am physically and emotionally exhausted, but a moment before a baby is born all that disappears. At that moment I am completely present, nothing else matters, there are no other thoughts in my head and my heart is full. That is a rare and beautiful space. It is a privileged place to be in, and I can't imagine life without it. Each delivery I attend leaves an impirint on my life, and has helped form who I am. Although each nurse I work with might word it a little differently, I think they all agree.

The women that I work with, and the one man (HONK IF YOU LOVE DR. WALKER!) are truly amazing. We are united, professional, skilled, and dedicated. We are passionate about what we do, and how we do it. We are friends inside and outside of the hospital. Most days we talk to one another on the phone to pass on an upcoming scheduled event at work, to process the events of our day (or night), to check in on how a family is doing, or just to chat or thank one another. Just as I can't imagine the end of childbirth in Blue Hill, I can't imagine no longer working with these women. It makes me so sad.

Several years ago when Jasmine was in kindergarten she was given an assignment to depict how a family member helps our community. This picture is what she drew. She wants to be a nurse when she grows up.

Childbirth in Blue Hill is part of our history, and an inspiration for our future...

So, that is my story. I invite any woman who has given birth at BHMH, any man who has become a father or anyone who has become a grandparent here to use this blog to tell your story. And I ask the amazing women, and that amazing man that I work with to do the same. Let's all share, preserve and relive our memories of the OB Department at the Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, and may we continue to make more!

Peace,
Tanis Williams BSN, RN