Growing up, Brittany Ellard Perryman heard stories about the “angel” nurse who helped her mom when she was in labor with her at Brookwood Hospital back in 1990. The nurse had soothed and comforted her until she delivered Brittany. Being from Michigan, Dawn had no family present to help her through the difficulties of labor and delivery.
Brittany shared with Alabama Media Group that her mom was ‘terrified but it was all okay, because Daphney was there. She was an angel to my mom, and mom said she wouldn't have made it without Daphney."
25 years later, Brittany met that angel nurse when she herself was in labor with her own daughter, Caroline, at the very same hospital where she was born.
Hearing that Daphney was still working there, she asked one of her friends who worked in the labor and delivery department to check if she would come meet her.
Daphney, who had been a nurse for more than four decades, not only visited Brittany for a chat to catch up but said she would be delivering her baby.
Brittany's mom, Dawn, soon arrived.
"I said, 'Mom I have a surprise for you!” said Brittany as Dawn entered the room. "and then Daphney turned around and my mom knew immediately who it was."
The two old friends screamed and cried and reminisced about Brittany’s birth 25 years ago.
Brittany’s long labor journey
Daphney stayed all day, well beyond her shift, rubbing Brittany’s back and comforting her every second of her labor.
Often called the ‘baby whisperer’, she proved that this was a title well earned.
But it wasn’t because Daphney was giving her special treatment, as Brittany shares, "I would love to say she just treated me like that because of our story, but that's not true. She treats everyone like that... That's the kind of person she is.”
After a gruelling labor, Brittany gave birth to Caroline the next day.
"I believe in divine intervention, and that was Daphney,” says the beaming new mom.
"It is all of you who make my day,” shared Daphney via facebook. "I get to share such an important day with so many precious, wonderful families. That is a blessing I thank Jesus for all of the time!"
She adds, "The delivery that prompted this post will stand out as one of the most precious and memorable of my career.”
The three women now keep in touch and Brittany looks forward to telling her baby daughter about the angel nurse who’ve been a part of their family’s history.
Brittany hopes that in sharing Daphney’s kindness, she can pay tribute to selfless nurses such as her who’ve touched so many lives.
"I want her to have evidence of all the lives she has touched,” shares the new mom. "I know a lot of nurses shadow her, and I want them to see that if you take care of and love your patients, you can change their lives."
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