Tori Tester, RN

High risk prenatal unit at Northside Hospital

Tori Tester

Today Danielle Jarlock continues celebrating the young life of her twin sons. As she treasures this experience, she says she might not have had this opportunity without the help of nurse Tori Tester.

After undergoing an emergency c-section due to pre-eclampsia, Jarlock gave birth to her boys in January 2016. As she left recovery, Jarlock went back to her room. She then met Tester and a nursing assistant, who offered to help Jarlock freshen up before her family arrived.

“That is when they discovered I was bleeding,” Jarlock said, “and it had been pooling inside, so no on knew.”

Jarlock says Tester worked quickly to address the bleeding. When the bleeding wouldn’t stop, Tester called in a doctor and a quartet of additional nurses to help.

“She made sure I was calm in a very scary situation,” Jarlock recalled. “Her quick thinking made it possible to get me back to the operating room so they could get things under control.”

Although Jarlock lost two liters of blood, Tester’s fast action made sure her patient made it to the OR in time to save her life.

“Without Tori’s care to get me ready for my family and her noticing things were going south, it may have had a very different ending,” Jarlock said. “I may not be here for my boys. She went another step to come check on me after I was recovering, even though I was in a different area at that point. I will never forget her.”

For more on celebrating nurses, visit www.ajc.com/ajcjobs/celebrating-nurses/.