I am a psych patient. I am also someone who has experienced a significant amount of trauma and I have a long complex history of mental health issues because of it. Becky, who I had the privilege of interacting, speaking, and engaging with, has truly been a light in such a dark time in my life. I am in the hospital for a suicide attempt, and I truly felt helpless. However, Becky went above and beyond to help me when I was experiencing a crisis – where I was hallucinating. The kindness, respect, empathy, compassion, and desire to be of assistance meant everything to me. I could never say thank you enough!! The fact that she saw me, heard me, validated me, held space for me, and stayed by my side in a time when I felt alone, scared, confused, and disoriented, made such a difference in what the outcome of my crisis could have been. She treated me and talked to me like I was a human, NOT just a “psych patient.”

I also have a feeding tube and I’ve been in the hospital for two days without my tube feeds being started. I mentioned to multiple nurses about the fact that I was without nutrition, and that I can’t sustain myself orally and no one did anything EXCEPT Nurse Becky. I was at such a dark place that I stopped mentioning the fact that I hadn’t been able to be fed through my tube, because I started to feel like it didn’t matter to anyone. I told her about the feed situation ONE time, and my feeds were started within an hour.

In a world where you can be anything – PLEASE be kind!! You never know what someone is going through. I fight battles and suffer silently every day! People like Nurse Becky restore your faith in the system that is so incredibly broken. Her saying to me, “How can I help you?” “I’m here for you,” and “I’m so sorry you are going through this,” were sentences that every person struggling would feel reassured to hear.

Nurse Becky…. THANK YOU for meeting my needs. THANK YOU for being the reason there was good in this emergency room stay. THANK YOU for taking the time to help me de-escalate rather than jumping to give me medications. THANK YOU for treating me the way all psych patients should be treated. THANK YOU for putting a smile on my face. THANK YOU for being a light in such a dark time in my life!! I truly appreciate you, Becky Ringland!!