Wendy Hebert
November 2025
Wendy
Hebert
,
RN
Emergency Department
Rumford Hospital
Rumford
,
ME
United States
I always see the nurses who get this award help with physical injury, but not mental health. I have struggled with anxiety for many years. In recent years, I have had lots of traumatic situations that have made my anxiety more of a panic disorder. I have been seen many times in the ED for this, and many times have had Wendy as my nurse.
The last time I was brought in, she was there. I like to think my mother, who passed, had a hand in her being there that day, right at that time! It has gotten to a point that it’s extremely debilitating, and I think she knew this. She was real, she got down to my level and said all the things I needed to hear. Whether it was harsh or not, she could see just what I needed. She made it so reality sat in.
I have a teenage son who lost his father at a young age. I have lived the last 16 years for him. He is my life and my world, but Wendy told me I also need to go live for me! I was not just put here to raise him but to enjoy this life with him. Enjoy and do it for me. It was that moment I knew I needed to get a grip on what was going on. I couldn’t suffer in my head like this every day, all day. Her words? They were “go kick that anxiety right in the a**!" And not only that, she knew and remembered everything I had talked about before this. She remembered everything I had been through with my mother without being reminded. She said, “Your mom would not want you to live this way!” She was right. So right!
I left the hospital that day with her words on repeat in my head. I did just what she told me to do, and it felt so good! She did so much for me that day. She may not have had the most severe patient or a patient with the worst injury, but she still did her job and more. She didn’t just blow me off because I was just having anxiety like most. She cared enough to make sure I heard her. I knew how important I was. You don’t get that often enough.
She saved my life in so many ways that mean just as much as any injury that walks through that door. I feel like we need to show that mental health is just as important as our physical health, especially in this world we live in now.
The last time I was brought in, she was there. I like to think my mother, who passed, had a hand in her being there that day, right at that time! It has gotten to a point that it’s extremely debilitating, and I think she knew this. She was real, she got down to my level and said all the things I needed to hear. Whether it was harsh or not, she could see just what I needed. She made it so reality sat in.
I have a teenage son who lost his father at a young age. I have lived the last 16 years for him. He is my life and my world, but Wendy told me I also need to go live for me! I was not just put here to raise him but to enjoy this life with him. Enjoy and do it for me. It was that moment I knew I needed to get a grip on what was going on. I couldn’t suffer in my head like this every day, all day. Her words? They were “go kick that anxiety right in the a**!" And not only that, she knew and remembered everything I had talked about before this. She remembered everything I had been through with my mother without being reminded. She said, “Your mom would not want you to live this way!” She was right. So right!
I left the hospital that day with her words on repeat in my head. I did just what she told me to do, and it felt so good! She did so much for me that day. She may not have had the most severe patient or a patient with the worst injury, but she still did her job and more. She didn’t just blow me off because I was just having anxiety like most. She cared enough to make sure I heard her. I knew how important I was. You don’t get that often enough.
She saved my life in so many ways that mean just as much as any injury that walks through that door. I feel like we need to show that mental health is just as important as our physical health, especially in this world we live in now.