When every second counts, experienced nurses can make the difference between life and loss. That truth came vividly to life at Intermountain Health Logan Regional Hospital,
where nurses Missy Bradshaw and Wendy Rushton sprang into action to save a newborn in cardiac distress. For their quick thinking, seamless teamwork, and clinical excellence, Bradshaw and Rushton are being honored as the Nurses of the Week.
The call came when new mom Rachel Gold noticed subtle but worrying signs in her two-week-old son, Soren—he wasn’t feeding well, had fewer wet diapers, and his lips had turned slightly purple. Alarmed, she rushed him to the pediatrician, who sent her straight to the ER.
“That was terrifying,” Gold recalled. “I was definitely worried that he might not survive.”
Waiting to meet them in the emergency room were Bradshaw and Rushton, who immediately recognized the urgency. “His heart was pumping at about 260 beats per minute,” said Bradshaw, a registered nurse with extensive experience in newborn care.
The diagnosis was supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), a rare but serious condition in infants where a malfunction in the heart’s electrical system causes it to beat too quickly, severely affecting blood circulation. “We probably see two or three cases a year here,” explained Rushton, a neonatal nurse practitioner. “Their heart starts to work harder and it’s hard for them to pump blood and get good circulation to their extremities, then to all the tissues.”
With Soren’s small body struggling to keep up, Bradshaw and Rushton leaned on their decades of training and collaboration. “We knew the urgency of getting him the correct care,” Bradshaw said. “His little body was not perfusing very well because his heart was beating so fast that he couldn’t keep up with it.”
Together—with support from fellow caregivers and a pediatric hospitalist via telehealth—the duo worked to stabilize the baby. Their skillful intervention not only saved Soren’s life but gave his family a renewed sense of hope. “We joke that this is not our first rodeo,” Bradshaw said. “We’ve resuscitated over the years a lot of babies together, and so I think you just go to those skills that you know and that you’ve practiced.”
After a week in the NICU, Soren was transferred to Primary Children’s Hospital for specialized cardiac care. Now four months old, he’s doing well and remains on medication, with a good prognosis—many babies outgrow SVT by their first birthday.
Gold and baby Soren recently reunited with the nurses who saved his life. “It was great care that we received and I really appreciated their expertise,” Gold said. “They saved his life.”
For Rushton, the reunion was a powerful reminder of the impact nurses make, often without seeing the long-term outcomes. “We don’t often get to see the result of our hard work,” she said. “It was great to see him in person.”
At Daily Nurse, we’re proud to recognize Missy Bradshaw and Wendy Rushton for their heroic actions, clinical mastery, and the unwavering dedication that defines what it means to be a nurse.
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