Rosalia Yciano was walking out of the Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center at the end of her double shift on February 8 when she heard a woman screaming from a car pulling into the Emergency Department entrance.

Yciano, who has been a labor and delivery nurse for 20 years, said she immediately recognized the woman was in labor.

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, she is going to deliver on the sidewalk,’” Yciano said. “I was not going to let that happen.”

Yciano locked eyes with the woman, Danielle Arnold, dropped her bag, and ran up to her car. She got a wheelchair and wheeled Arnold inside.

Arnold described Yciano as her guardian angel and knight in shining armor.

“I was hollering at the top of my lungs, and Rosie came out of nowhere and didn’t even second guess to help,” Arnold described. “It was so special and the sweetest thing.”

An urgent, caring delivery

Inside the medical center, knowing that there wasn’t much time, Yciano arranged for Arnold to be admitted to the Emergency Department. She was put on a gurney and transported into a small private room.

Arnold felt nervous about delivering her second baby because her mom, who passed away 9 months prior, wouldn’t be by her side as she was during the birth of her first child 6 years ago.

She said Yciano was the cheerleader and the motherly figure she needed.  

“Rosie held my hand and calmed me down as she guided me through the pushing,” Arnold said. “It was so soothing.”

Yciano remembered: “As chaotic as it was in the moment with everyone worried and running around next to us, I took her hand. And I paused for a second to say, ‘It’s just you and I together. We’re going to have this baby, and everything will be okay.’”

In 3 pushes, Arnold’s son Zylo was born, healthy and crying.

“I’m sure Danielle would have gotten the care she needed either way, but I was so glad I was there for her,” Yciano said.

‘Patient advocates before anything else’

After the delivery, Arnold and her baby were transferred to the Labor and Delivery Department, where she said her entire care team continued to be amazing.

“Everybody was super helpful and caring from the minute I got through the hospital’s front doors up until the moment I was discharged,” Arnold said.

About a month after her delivery, Arnold sent a thank you letter, in which she nominated Yciano for a DAISY Award.

“I’m not the type of person who would write a letter, but I wanted to let everyone know about the amazing level of service I received,” Arnold said.

Yciano said that day filled her emotional tank.

“As tired as I was after my shift, I just thought, ‘This is why I do what I do,’” Yciano said. “No matter if we are working or not. We are patient advocates before anything else.”

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