Full circle

It is with great honor that I write about my personal and professional experience at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The hospital and staff have been a part of my life for over forty years. My first experience came in 1958 when I was just four years old. Referred by my pediatrician to Grace-New Haven Hospital for a cardiac work-up, Yale left me with a lasting impression that had both professional and personal impact. From this time forward, I was awed by the magnitude of its size and very curious about what it had to offer.

In 1971 I went to Southern Connecticut State College School of Nursing affiliated with Yale-New Haven Hospital. I was very grateful to be associated with such a hospital that was culturally diverse, caring for many people with unique and challenging illnesses. It was no surprise that I chose to work at Yale-New Haven after graduation. My nursing career began on "6 West" in the Memorial Unit and later on the Labor and Delivery unit where I hoped to gain experience to become a nurse-midwife. Early in my career I was guided and learned from many caring and experienced nursing staff. In 1980 I graduated from the Yale University School of Nursing, advancing my nursing career to become a nurse-midwife.

In time, my life made a full circle from nurse to patient. I can speak first hand of the quality of care that the staff provides at Yale-New Haven Hospital. My son Troy was born in 1981 at Yale-New Haven's Labor and Delivery Unit surrounded by a wonderful nursing staff, nurse-midwife Debbie Cibelli, Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), and Marshall Holley MD. I have also survived and recovered from cancer treatment through the staff at Yale. In 1993 I was diagnosed with sinus cancer with a consequence of major facial and head surgery. At this point I met Clarence Sasaki, MD (Ear, Nose, Throat), Dennis Spencer, MD (Neurosurgery), John Persing, MD (Plastic surgery) and Stephan Ariyan, MD (Plastic surgery). The resident surgical staff under the guidance of this team of physicians enabled me to get through a long and challenging recovery. My hospital stay was three weeks long. It was a very difficult time, spending three days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and three weeks on the post-op unit. On my first morning in the ICU I met Christine Paine, RN, a nurse in Dr. Sasaki's office who was working overtime in the Neuro ICU. As you can imagine, I didn't feel well, was hooked up to all sorts of equipment and just twelve hours out of surgery. Christine made sure I was comfortable and "presentable" before my family came in to see me. The nursing staff was consistently nearby to monitor and support me. Three days later I was transferred to the post-op unit. You can imagine my surprise when I was placed on the same unit where I had started my nursing career twenty years earlier!

I can't say enough about the hospital staff that I met during my three weeks of recovery. I will mention Susan Healy, RN, who was sensitive and very aware of my needs. On my first day out of bed she recognized a potential complication and watched diligently until the physicians came in to evaluate me. I thank her for her compassion. Joan Moore, RN, MSN, was the clinical specialist for the unit. I met her on my fourth day after surgery. She became both advocate and friend, helping me to heal and recover from my diagnosis. Tony Hernandez-Conte, MD, was a first year anesthesiology resident. His daily post-op visits offered words of encouragement to deal with the facial and physical changes from surgery. I greatly appreciated the sensitivity of a neurology resident that listened to my request to cover the mirror in the room until I was ready to see myself. He was kind enough to stay when I finally had courage to look, realizing that the facial changes weren't as bad as I had imagined.

After 1993, I had four more surgeries and many more visits to meet the staff at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Although eight years have passed, I continue to have yearly visits to the Yale Professional Building and regular checkups.

As both nurse and patient, I can attest to the many caring staff at Yale-New Haven Hospital. I applaud and congratulate you on your 175th anniversary.

Diane Libby-Ramage, RN, MSN, CNM
Middletown, Conn.