I am a bonsai enthusiast. Taking care of bonsai trees is a discipline that requires patience and skill. Each tree is its own unique creation and invites personal reflection/interpretation beyond the physical creation itself. The art of the bonsai esthetic is also very inspirational. Bonsai legacy trees passed through generations require a caretaker with techniques and disciplines that are specialized. Although anyone with limited skills can make a bonsai tree, only a few rise to the top and are considered true masters. I recently met a true "master" in her field of nursing at RIO.

While working in the attic of my home, the platform on which I was standing broke and as a result, I fell through the ceiling onto our kitchen floor. I broke all 5 of my lumbar vertebrae and my two floating ribs- 12 fractures in all. I was transported via ambulance to the hospital where I spent 2.5 days in the emergency room awaiting a transfer to a bed in Trauma. There were no beds available due to the pandemic overload. A bed eventually became available and I was transferred to Trauma and while under their care a recommendation was made for continuing treatment at RIO. I am a spiritual person and I believe there are some people God places in your life at just the right time and just the right place. Nurse Becky was just the right person and RIO was just the right place. Nurse Becky inspired me and in my humble opinion, is the best nurse I have encountered in my 67 years. I was totally dependent on the staff at RIO for a period of time and Nurse Becky made a meaningful difference in my care and my rehabilitation. I found I was unable to do anything without help. Many people that were in there were probably way worse off than me. God had really blessed me and I, under the circumstances of the fall, was extremely lucky. Besides her normal duties of taking care of many people, she and your staff helped me to get in and out of the bed, both an arduous and painful task, due to my injury. She went above and beyond to make me feel comfortable and helped me to stay on top of my pain management regimen during her very busy shifts. Quite frankly, I could not have gotten through the first part of my stay without her help. I was for the first time in my life that I could remember, totally helpless due to the pain and my condition, a horrible feeling at times. She was always there when I needed her and was always in the right place at the right time, very comforting for a trauma patient. She was a ray of sunshine and extremely positive and caring when I needed it most.

We, as patients, forget that nurses have lives too and deal with the daily stresses we all have to deal with. We had a winter storm while I was in RIO, yet there she was on time and pleasant, and focusing on her nursing duties. She knew when to let me do things on my own as I progressed in my rehab within the RIOC construct of becoming "independent". She gave me the confidence to know that I could progress on my own. I can't thank her enough for what she did for me and she needs to know that God has given her a special gift and she is doing exactly what she should be doing, nursing! She was there at a very difficult time in my life, I mean THERE. Engaged in my care and ensured I had what I needed to get better. I truly hope she gets the recognition she deserves. She is a very special person and a nursing MASTER.