The following is a letter to Anna Nowak, Vice-President, Public Relations, at the Bermuda Hospitals Board:

Dear Ms Nowak,

I went to the Emergency Department of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital on April 7 because I was feeling unsettled in my chest after violently vomiting following my midday meal.

I had vomited on Easter Day and on the Friday of that week, but after those two episodes, I felt fresh and good. On the Saturday I did not feel good after the vomiting — I have been dealing with acid indigestion for the longest while.

Now, to cut down on words, I will list what I was happy and excited about during my weeklong stay until I was discharged on April 14:

• Admitting Clerk was nurse Vincent David. Lovely. After he escorted me to a ward in Emergency, he brought me a heated blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders. I felt I was receiving top-class service at a hotel

• Seen by lovely nurses and then Nicole Hart, who was like a juicy peach

• Then Dr Nevin Williams: Very lovely, impressive. Struck me as thorough and professional

• Somewhere along the way I had a CAT scan or an X-ray — some sort of examination

• I heard from Dr Hart that I had had a mild heart attack and was going to be admitted

• Room 429. I was welcomed to Ascendant Partner Re Ward by nurse Janice Lewis who used the words, “Welcome to Ascendant Partner Re Ward”. Again, that felt like first-class service at a fine restaurant/hotel

• Nurses Melanie and Anderson stood out

• Other nurses whose names I don’t know; for example, one from Thailand who helped me with my TV

• Speaking of TV, wonderful service, more channels than I get at home

• Felt very much looked after with excellent nursing care

• Impressed with my cardiac care under gorgeous Dr Francine Gayle and caring Dr Lon Sherman

• Also enjoyed other workers such as cleaners and people from dietary department

• Gorgeous food — that’s what I would call dark, leafy greens, and pumpkin and steak, for example

• Three meals per day plus fruit, cookies, drinks, with the excellent variety and quality

• That evening in Emergency, I asked about food and was given a lovely tray of a delicious turkey sandwich with a nice drink and a slice of ... wait for it ... delicious fruit cake! I was in heaven

• Spacious private room, good toothbrush and Sensodyne toothpaste, lovely towels, soap, bedding, gowns

• I had been wearing a heart monitor for the week, so it was like freedom day on Friday, the day of my discharge when, free of the those devices, I was able to take one of the best showers of my life! Loved the seat

• To top it all off, nurse Anderson, when she saw that I was preparing in late afternoon for leaving, invited me to stay and have supper to save having to fix a meal at home.

HELENE STEPHENSON

Smith’s