Richmond, Va.-based VCU Medical Center nurses arranged a wedding ceremony Oct. 23 for a patient and colleague before the patient’s emergency C-section, according to VCU Health.
Kandra Norris, a safety compliance officer at VCU Health, and Bernard Manatu had planned to marry Oct. 22 at a chapel in Richmond, three days ahead of her baby shower. At a prenatal appointment the day before the wedding, her VCU Health care team in Henrico, Va., found her blood pressure was dangerously high, prompting an immediate transfer to VCU Medical Center.
Ms. Norris, then 32 weeks and two days pregnant, was admitted to the labor and delivery unit for 24-hour fetal monitoring. Dips in her daughter’s heart rate led physicians to schedule a preterm induction, extending what began as a one-day visit into a weeklong stay.
When Ms. Norris told her nurses she was supposed to be getting married, labor and delivery nurses Brea Schwartz, RN, and Taylor Russell, RN, along with nurse educator Ciara Britt, DNS, MSN, arranged for the couple’s original officiant to marry them bedside. Chaplain Leigh Finnegan-Hosey coordinated hospital approval for the ceremony.
The nursing staff decorated the room with string lights, balloons, a banner backdrop and flowers gathered from past staff bridal showers, as well as a framed photo of the couple and a beaded bracelet, the release said.
During the 10-minute ceremony, the care team monitored the baby’s heart rate, which dropped a few times. Immediately after the couple exchanged vows, Ms. Norris was taken into surgery. Her daughter, Presley, was born at 5 pounds, 3 ounces and spent 19 days in the neonatal ICU at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU before the family returned home.
In a twist, Ms. Schwartz, who was also pregnant at the time, went into labor later that day and delivered her own daughter 10 hours after Ms. Norris’ wedding.
Ms. Norris nominated the labor and delivery team for VCU Health’s STAR Service Award, a monthly recognition for staff who go above expected duties for patients, and the team received the award for the effort.
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