US retiree and long-time island visitor William McQueen presented a BZ$7,500 donation in honor of Nurse Natalie Palen to Ambergris Hopes Medical Clinic, located in San Pedro Town on Friday, February 28th. While not knowing Nurse Natalie personally, he was inspired by her life's work and dedication to the residents of San Pedro Town. McQueen has been visiting the island for more than 20 years and fostered a relationship with Dr. Daniel Gonzalez of Ambergris Hopes Medical Clinic, whom he sees for medical care when he visits the island.
McQueen said that after reading about Nurse Natalie's life, he felt that, "she was always there for people" and recounted that in the aftermath of Hurricane Keith, which ravaged Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker when it made landfall in October 2000 Nurse Natalie was on the ground immediately, assisting with relief efforts. "She worked very hard to get people patched up and on their way without thinking about the expense," he said. "She paid for a lot of things out of pocket. I felt like that was kindness going beyond anybody's imagination". He greatly admired her 'get it done' attitude and felt that the donation would be a proper way of honoring her and her life's work.
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