Six children — including a newborn — could have been motherless were it not for the quick actions of Northside Hospital’s Susie Drew and others.
On Jan. 5 of this year, staff in the hospital’s Postpartum Unit, heard the dreaded “Code Blue” and rushed to a new mother’s bedside.
There, Susie and others on the rapid response team found a woman in rapid decline and quickly without respiration or heartbeat.
Other members of the team occasionally relieved Susie. But for more than 20 minutes, she did chest compressions on Mom, until finally a pulse was detected.
“We came together as a team, and we saved that woman’s life,” Susie said.
The next 24 to 36 hours would be critical for the patient. By then Susie was off-duty, but she called to check on the mom several times a day and prayed for her to regain consciousness.
By Day 2, Mom woke up, feeling her new baby up against her.
“She had a tear running down her face,” Susie said.
Once back at work, Susie went to the Mom’s hospital room for a visit.
“When I opened the door and said, ‘I’m Susie,’ she held her arms up. We both started crying, and she said: ‘Thank you so much for not giving up on me. You’re strong.’ “
Doctors determined that Mom had “coded” due to a blood clot in her leg, Susie said.
“Not too many patients survive that kind of thing,” she said. “She’s just very blessed. It wasn’t her time, and I wasn’t going to let her die.”
Nancy Corbin, Susie’s manager, recommended that Susie be recognized for her efforts.
“She is a very caring, compassionate nurse and leader,” Nancy said. “She exhibits strong critical thinking skills and strong leadership skills — always thinking on her feet.”
Susie, who has emergency room experience as well as women’s experience in Postpartum, nursey and L&D, has been at Northside about four years.
She’s grateful she was able to be there for the new mom.
“God puts us all in places,” she said. “I needed to be there on that particular day working the floor.”
When Mom left the hospital, Susie was there to say goodbye.
“I told her we were bonded for the rest of our lives,” she said.
