Dear Editor. What do you say about a person who has left a lasting imprint on your life? When initially asked if I would write a tribute to Estelle MacPhail, ENA President 1989, I thought, "How could I begin to give worthy comments of such a fine woman?" For me personally, Estelle was a mentor, a friend, a surrogate mother, and a consummate professional role model. She introduced me to ENA when I was a "newbie" in the ED nursing profession and she was in her late 40s. (No one ever knew her age exactly, until her death.) She was the mother of seven children, working fulltime, back in school working toward her degree, and coming to Maine to help us start an ENA chapter. From that time on, she became a role model for me-if she could do all this with seven children, I could do it with three. She coached my professional development all the way to my following in her footsteps as President of ENA. She also taught me life lessons on striving for personal and professional goals, never forgetting to have fun along the way, and even passed on her love for the Celtics.
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