Estela Duran is a Patient Service Representative for CAP Pleasanton.  She was nominated by her colleague, Marquitta Dixon.

Marquitta Dixon nominated Estela Duran for this month’s Wellness Spotlight Award. In Marquitta’s nomination, she shared that, “Meeting Estela for the first time was like a burst of sunshine. She greeted me with a great big smile. She is very welcoming, compassionate and often thinks about others. She is truly my motivation in several areas of my life. Estela is a great social connection and keeps me up to date with healthy living and healthy eating. Recently, she inspired me to do a 30-day exercise challenge. It has been with great pleasure to have found not only an awesome co-worker, but a genuine friend.”

When I met with Estela, she shared her perspective on wellness and what shapes her attitude toward being well.

Q. What does wellness mean to you?
A. Wellness to me means feeling good in your physical and mental abilities.

Q. In Marquitta’s nomination, she highlighted your compassion. What does it mean to be compassionate to you?
A. Compassion is treating everyone the way I want others to treat me. My mom was empathetic. She always gave money to the homeless and taught me to be polite to servers, janitors, rich and poor. It didn’t matter where you came from. It was important to treat people with respect. My two brothers are like that also.

Q. What inspires you?
A. When I first started working here, I saw a Stanford video showing what people are going through and the care given by people throughout our system of care. It really showed me that you never know what a person may be experiencing, and you should treat everyone the same, no matter how they are treating you. Our clinic’s specialty is Oncology and we treat every patient with love, patience and attention. That also carries over to co-workers because you never know what someone may be going through.

Q. How do you think we can spread this?
A. It starts with yourself. Be someone that people can talk to and depend on. Genuinely ask, “How are you doing.” Engage with others instead of looking at your phone. Family is the word used in our office. Make the decision to be that for yourself: Love, Understanding and Patience. They are contagious too. Just set your intention every day, when you wake up, that this is the day that I’ll be ____________.