Sometimes beautiful things can come from terrible situations.
Amanda Templin was told she’d never be able to get pregnant due to reproductive challenges. But 10 years ago, a miracle happened. She found out she was pregnant with her son Lane.
‘It was devastating’
The joy of an unexpected pregnancy turned to sorrow. At the time of delivery, she learned there was no heartbeat.
“Neither of us had expected to get pregnant and have a son at all. So, having the loss was so unbelievably devastating for both of us,” said Templin.
She would still have to deliver Lane.
“Just a full roll of emotions. Up and down, angry and sad. You feel them all and you don’t know where to put them,” she recalled.
When giving birth to Lane, she met Bethany Anderson, a registered nurse at Sanford Health in Bemidji, Minnesota.
“It was my first loss that I had ever done on the floor. I remember really just connecting with them. Connecting with her family. Just going through that whole experience with them and being there for them. We had a lot of different things in common,” said Anderson.
“It’s something that you are the only person that gets to do with them. You get to go through that with them; be there with them. So, I have always looked at it as, is it hard? Yes, but it is such an honor to be there with them and go through that with them.”
Remaining friends
The two have kept in touch ever since. Templin was even Anderson’s special education teacher until she moved from Bemidji to Devil’s Lake, Minnesota.
“I was pretty bummed that she was gone,” said Anderson.
Fast-forward two years. Templin found out she was pregnant once again. This time with her daughter Kinley.
“I was so nervous. Absolutely scared to the hills. Happy, (but I) told no one. I was so terrified to lose something again, and I just didn’t want to tell anybody,” Templin said.
Due to Templin’s history, Kinley’s birth was planned. When it was time to deliver Kinley, Templin requested Anderson be the one to do it.
“Her shift ended, and she asked permission if she could stay past her shift to help deliver Kinley. And we were all for it. We were like, ‘yes, yes, yes. Bethany stays. Bethany stays,’” Templin said through a laugh.
During the delivery, Anderson said she and Templin both got flashbacks.
“We have certain ways that we can tell how well oxygenated a baby is. And Kinley’s oxygenation was not looking great. And I just remember thinking, I am not going through this again with them. I’m not going to do this. We are getting this baby out and we are going to have a healthy mom, healthy baby in the end,” said Anderson.
‘Rainbow baby’
And that’s exactly what happened. Kinley was born perfectly healthy.
“She’s like the gift her brother gave me, and I don’t know how else to explain it. They call them rainbow babies and that’s no joke. She’s my rainbow baby 100%,” said Templin.
Kinley is now 7 years old. Templin said she’s “so science-y and she’s smart and she’s creative, and she’s just plain cool. She’s so compassionate, really kind, very caring. She’s empathetic, and I think those are qualities that you just can’t teach. It’s just who she is.”
She said even during horrible times, there are still “gifts” to be found.
“My stillborn son gave me the gift of knowing that I could get pregnant. I met Bethany. I have a wonderful daughter, and I wouldn’t have any of that without this horrible tragedy.”
Anderson said it’s moments and relationships like these that remind her why she cares so deeply about nursing.
“It is an honor to take care of patients like this,” she said. “You do not realize the impact that you make on people’s lives. Sometimes you’ll never know, but we don’t do it for the satisfaction of knowing that. We don’t do it for that. We do it for the fact that we love people.”
Learn more
- Fertility nurse inspires change after own miscarriages
- Spreading awareness, support after pregnancy or infant loss
- America’s Best Maternity Hospitals include 3 Sanford centers
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Posted In Bemidji, Nursing and Nursing Support, People & Culture, Pregnancy, Women's
