A Word about the BMT Clinic Staff.....

I really can't begin to tell you how wonderful each and every person in the BMT Clinic is. I don't know if Moffitt makes them take a "caring-niceness-thoughtful-sweet-person" test but each and every one would pass with flying colors. After being there for 6 weeks, of course you find yourself having favorites and gravitate towards certain people, but only because your sense of humor is similar or you both open up to each other sharing personal stories etc etc., not because one person is nicer or sweeter than the other. My family and I got close to several of the nurses......and I want to mention them by name. First there is Maureen, a beautiful soul....she took my weight, blood pressure, temperature and blood on most of my days at Moffitt and greeted me and my family with such care and concern and the most wonderful smile that just couldn't help but to start your day off right. Then there was Darlene . She was the nurse that took care of me for my 3 days of Apheresis and introduced me to what my new artistic interest is.....the actual making of Glass Beads. She gave me some glass making books while I was having apheresis and that ignited my interest. I've always had some artistic pursuit going on at any given time in my life, but working with glass rods to make glass beads, is a new one for me. I've made my own jewelry for years ,as jewelry has always been a passion for me, so now I can make the beads that make the jewelry! Can't wait to start!! Another of my nurses is Jessica, or Jess as we called her. She was the nurse that was exclusively mine for the 2 days I received chemotherapy. She is a loving and caring person with a great sense of humor and we enjoyed every minute together. That brings me to another nurse, Vicky. She is the nurse that spent the entire Transplant Day with me, making sure I came through it ok and she watched me like a hawk!! Lots of people have reactions, so us transplant folks are monitored very closely. Vicky shared my new Birthday Party with us and laughed hard right along with us. She is truly one of the most innately sweet people you will ever meet. She shared parts of her life with us too (about an upcoming pound puppy adoption among other things) and she's just a person that played a big part in my Transplant process. Next comes Linda. She is such a special person. She greeted us everyday with a warm hug and a smile and was a patient and loving teacher when spending hours with us about central line care, showering instructions, and pretty much anything else you could thing of. She took care of me on many of my days there and my Transplant wouldn't have been the same without her. Dare I say THE most important person throughout my entire stay at Moffitt Cancer Center is "Dr. Laura". Laura is actually not a Doctor at all, she is an ARNP which is a Nurse Practitioner. She has worked at Moffitt in the Outpatient Bone Marrow Treatment Center (BMT) for the last 12 years. She is the most fantastic person you would ever meet. Knowledgeable, smart, funny, adorable, understanding, patient.......the list of her qualities are truly endless. I saw Laura every day. No one EVER felt rushed......we ALWAYS had our questions answered......she ALWAYS followed through......she discussed medication changes with us and why.......asked for my feedback as well as Mom and Kate's......thoroughly explained any and all test results and follow up treatments.....in other words , she is the kind of "doctor" everyone should have. I saw my actual Transplant doctor once a week and of course it was Laura who filled him in on what was going on and made recommendations about me. We know who the "Real" doctor is!! Both my family and I cannot say enough wonderful things about Laura and we really can't imagine going through such a life changing experience without her running the show. She made it as wonderful as something like this can be!! I just wanted to give my "shout outs" and "high 5's all around", as I feel so lucky and fortunate to have had all of these awesome people in my life at a time when the people who surround you really do give you strength and hope.....and I couldn't have had a better group than if I had handpicked them myself. The universe sends people into your life when you need them the most.