Northwestern Medicine

After delivering a healthy baby girl via a cesarean section (C-section) on February 10, Chelsea Cheveria developed blood clots in her lungs that immediately sent her into cardiac arrest. The team at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital performed four rounds of CPR, but she was still unresponsive. Thankfully, a swift coordinated effort led by Daniel Schimmel, MD, director of the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team at [tag] Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, organized a treatment plan involving interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, pulmonologists and interventional radiologists. Blood pressure medication helped get her heart pumping again, but the life-threatening clots in her lungs, or a pulmonary embolism, were putting intense strain on her heart. Cardiologists at Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute had to work quickly to remove the clots, through a procedure called an emergency thrombectomy, and keep her heart from stopping a second time. Before her thrombectomy could be performed, physicians had to first address another issue — life-threatening bleeding from an artery in her uterus. Robert Lewandowski, MD, an interventional radiologist, first performed an emergency uterine artery embolization to stop the bleeding, allowing Chelsea to take the blood thinners needed for a thrombectomy. Keith Benzuly, MD, an interventional cardiologist, then began an emergency thrombectomy to clear the clots. “This was a unique situation that required significant multi-discipline collaboration,” says Dr. Lewandoski. “Expedited care in the right order was paramount.” Despite the harrowing story, this team came together to protect the family. “When you think about the baby who might lose a mom, you are not just trying to save a patient, but you’re trying to protect a family,” says Dr. Schimmel. “This was all-hands-on-deck, everyone running to the bedside.” Thank you to all of the clinicians and staff involved for your teamwork and making this incredible moment possible. “I now have a hematologist, a cardiologist and a therapist,” says Chelsea. “And I already want another baby. I'm not afraid to go again. I just love being a mom.”

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For nurses, returning to work after having a baby requires balancing patient care with the realities of early parenthood. In this episode of Better, RN, hosts Alyssa Saklak, BSN, RN, CMSRN, and Laurin Henderson, MSN, RN, CMSRN, join Northwestern Medicine Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurses Moira Hoelting, BSN, RNC-NIC, and Kelly Kunkel, MSN, RN, to discuss the transition through pregnancy, the newborn stage and beyond. They explore returning to work after leave, practicing routines like pumping or childcare in advance, and the importance of building a support system to manage the emotional and practical challenges of being both a nurse and a new parent. https://bit.ly/4doK5WQ

For many nurses, the path to their profession begins with a personal experience. For Kristen Coombe, MSN, RN, that moment came during childhood when her brother underwent a lifesaving kidney transplant. Today, she is the program director of Transplant Clinical Operations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, supporting patients and families through some of life’s most complex moments. This Nurses Week, we celebrate nurses across Northwestern Medicine who make a difference every day. A gift in honor of Nurses Week helps support the nurses who make compassionate, high quality care possible. Support the nurses who make better medicine possible: https://lnkd.in/gHBeg8Kp

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Happy Mother’s Day! Thank you for trusting Northwestern Medicine as you start or continue your motherhood journey. We’re honored to care for so many new and seasoned moms!

Every nurse has a “why.” Nurses are the steady presence behind so many patient experiences, leading with care and connection every shift. This Nurses Week, we are celebrating Northwestern Medicine nurses and what inspires them in their careers. Thank you for your commitment to our patients and communities.

This Nurses Week, we recognize the more than 10,000 Northwestern Medicine nurses whose expertise and commitment are central to the care we provide. Every day, they bring clinical skill, sound judgement and compassion together for our patients and their families. Their work is foundational to delivering safe, high-quality care across our system. Thank you for the dedication, professionalism and heart you bring to every shift.