Four Moments – In times of celebration and crisis, Nantucket Cottage Hospital has been a safe and reliable resource for New York Times best-selling author Elin Hilderbrand.

“I have lived on Nantucket year-round for thirty years, and I’ve been blessed with a relatively healthy and injury-free life. That said, the four most important moments of my life have all taken place at Nantucket Cottage Hospital. The first moment was the birth of my son, Maxwell, in the fall of 1999. This took place in the ‘old’ maternity ward. The second and third moments were the births of my children, Dawson and Shelby, in 2002 and 2005 respectively. These were in the much lovelier ‘new’ maternity ward. It was popular even as recently as 2005 for islanders to choose to have their babies off island – on the Cape, or even Boston – but I was determined to give birth to Nantucket natives. My first pregnancy didn’t proceed as seamlessly as the nurses and doctor wanted, and so we decided on a C-section performed by Dr. Lepore. This meant that both Dawson and Shelby also were born by C-sections performed by Dr. Lepore. I can now say that not only are my kids Nantucket natives, they were delivered by an island legend.

The fourth important moment of my life was, alas, not a cheerful one. I found a lump in my left breast in the spring of 2014, and thanks to speedy and effective imaging at NCH, I was diagnosed with Stage One breast cancer. Although this diagnosis was nothing short of devastating, I was impressed with the ease that I was set up with an incredible surgical team at Mass General. The transition to care at Mass General – which included a double mastectomy – was seamless, and at a time of tremendous anxiety, the health professionals at NCH made my life easier.

I am not a frequent visitor to the hospital these days, thank goodness, but I am one of its biggest and most vocal champions. In times of celebration and in times of crisis, Nantucket Cottage Hospital has been a professional, safe and reliable resource for me and my family.” – Elin Hilderbrand

Photo: Kit Noble Photography