I had a wonderful encounter with Antonio Ramos, one of your nurses. I am the daughter a patient who had surgery at UNM when I met Antionio. My mom went in for a major open abdominal surgery to attempt and remove cancerous masses and I was very emotional and nervous for this procedure. I was caught off guard with the Preop process being so abrupt and, due to covid restrictions, no visitors being allowed with their loved ones in the Preop area.

I had to say a quick goodbye to my mom at the Preop doors which definitely didn't help my nerves. I stood outside of the Preop doors quite emotional and scared. That is when my encounter with Antonio changed my entire experience. Numerous people walked by me in the hallway but Antionio chose to stop and make a connection with me. The first thing he said to me was, "Are you okay?". He spent about 5 minutes with me letting me express my worries and emotions about my mom's surgery and he not only took the time to do that, but he grabbed my hand and held it while I was talking/crying to him. He finished our conversation with reassuring me things would go smoothly and giving me a hug at the end of our encounter. I was absolutely blown away by this act of kindness.

I myself am a RN at Presbyterian and I cannot express enough gratitude for what Antonio did to help me through a very scary and worrisome time that day. He made all the difference in the world and his genuine care and kindness and I just thought you should know how much that meant to me. I would love to reach out to him directly to thank him or at least have you let him know what an impact this had on me. Happy holidays to you and your team