I had to bring my mother to the Emergency Department. While she may not have been a top-priority emergency, I was very stressed out and overwhelmed. I'm the only sibling local, and her care falls on me. It's a lot to navigate, and hospital trips add a lot of stress to the situation.

We were called back to triage, and Kathleen was the nurse. We had been in the room about five seconds before her banter made me smile. I could tell she and her coworker had probably worked together for a long time because they functioned like a well-oiled machine. Kathleen would ask a question directly to my mother, and the lighthearted interaction between them immediately helped diffuse the situation. I cannot explain to you how much this eased my anxiety. I never felt like they weren't listening to my concerns, but I found myself genuinely laughing.

My mother was laughing and playing right along with them. Kathleen had such a dynamic personality. I have never been welcomed with such genuine affection. For about five minutes, while sitting in that tiny room, I felt more comfortable and more at ease than I have ever felt in a hospital.

I intermittently overheard that same humor and joy being extended to other patients who likely felt the same way I did. I even heard a man on the phone say he had checked in and made two new friends in the process.

But what I would like to point out and reiterate to your hospital the most is that Kathleen knew exactly the time and place for that humor and sarcasm.

We were in the waiting room for about an hour when a mother checked in with her son. I didn't think much of it at the time. Kathleen and her coworker opened the door and called their name. I don't know what they saw, or what they had been trained to recognize, but I watched Kathleen make eye contact, and her entire demeanor changed. Her body language shifted as she immediately moved to care for that family.

They took that child back with such urgency and purpose that I almost fell to my knees in prayer. I know that mother felt the same level of comfort and reassurance from Kathleen that I had experienced. I saw Kathleen outside with the mother later as I was leaving. My mother has had urgent procedures completed before, and I have never felt so alone as I did during those times. I know Kathleen's presence meant a great deal to that mother.

I'm sorry if I am long-winded in my commendation, but I do want your hospital to know how much this interaction meant to me and my mother. We have always received good care at Memorial Regional; however, this experience was exemplary.

Please share my deepest gratitude with Kathleen. Her warmth, humor, compassion, and ability to instinctively know exactly what her patients and families need make her truly extraordinary.