Cynthia Rathbone
April 2022
Cynthia
Rathbone
,
RN
Emergency Department
Maine Medical Center
Portland
,
ME
United States

 

 

 

I was immediately put at ease with Cynthia's obvious skill and knowledge.
I have spent many hours thinking of the care my daughter A (and my husband and I) received from Cynthia, and I feel that I have to finally provide her with some recognition, even though I realize this event was quite long ago.

We only were her patients for a few hours. She probably doesn't remember us at all, but Cynthia cared for A when she was 17 months old on the worst day of our lives. Abigail had several seizures out of the blue, was transported to our local hospital, and then transferred to the ED. She continued to seize and was transferred into Cynthia's care in the trauma area of the ED.

I was immediately put at ease with Cynthia's obvious skill and knowledge. She advocated for A's needs and took excellent care of her. I specifically heard her suggest several things to the physician (who was also wonderful) regarding A's care and her input was obviously welcomed and respected. She allowed us to remain physically close to A and guided us to a place we could do that and also not be in the way of the care team.

She explained everything that was going on and made sure we were kept completely up to date. She never let us feel like our family did not have her full attention. Once A's situation was stable and she was waiting to be transferred to PICU, Cynthia recognized that I had not eaten in many hours and found a meal for me.

I'm sure she would say none of this was any big deal and just a day in her work, but her care has remained a bright spot in a terrible memory for me for four years. I only apologize that it took me so long to submit this recognition. It was difficult for me to relive this for a long time.