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Nursing Narratives is a new regular feature for UVA nursing students that provides them with space to express their thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Virginia Nursing Legacy (VNL) thanks the Jefferson Trust, which has funded this enterprise in both the VNL's print and digital editions through May 2025.

This edition of Narratives focuses on the intersection of nursing and parenthood, and all the many ways that nurses are in our lives from the very beginning and mark us in unique and profound ways. We also offer this edition's theme as a nod to National Parents' Day, celebrated at the end of each July.

Narratives is edited by DNP student and Jefferson Trust Grant recipient Sherrie Page Guyer, MSN, RN, editor. Faculty members who would like to coordinate student assignments and students with article ideas that should be considered for this space may email Sherrie.

Under the small room’s fluorescent light, she clutches her husband's hand. 

He stands next to her as she lies on the table, her leg crinkling the paper sheet as it bounces in anticipation. “We’ve waited for this day for many years,” she says, then smiles wide. 

“Should we find out the gender?” he asks.

The ultrasound machine reveals unexpected news. The doctor’s face turns serious as she outlines the silhouette of their unborn child with no flicker of a heartbeat. Like a kaleidoscope, I watch their future dreams flash between their eyes, then hand them Kleenex for their tears.

As their nurse and a mother, I witness this delicate dance between life and death. Time suspends. The room’s sharp smell of antiseptic brings me back. “I’m sorry,” I say, squeezing her hand.

Here I am, part of a sacred space with a couple I’ve never met, finding balance between professionalism and humanity. 

When my watch buzzes, I notice I am 10 minutes late for the next appointment. I shift from a solemn mood to a sense of urgency. I need to reset the room and politely greet the next couple as if nothing had just happened in this space. My mind pushes to get back on schedule. 

Feelings suppressed in a deep, undefined place, I move through the rest of the day in thirty-minute increments. With each appointment, my emotions rollercoaster from happiness to hope to grief, with only minutes in between each before a new ride takes off. I keep climbing aboard, shouldering my patients’ burdens and grief.

The day ends. As I enter the threshold of my home and greet my children, I exhale — such sweet relief. I never realize how often I hold my breath.

Pamela Byrnes, a DNP student, psychiatric nurse practitioner, wrote this narrative based on her experiences as a patient and as a nurse who has experienced loss and cared for people through loss and grief. She is a mother to three young girls and lives in the Charlottesville area.