A year ago, I called the UW Health Union Corners clinic hoping for an appointment. But in order to get one ASAP, I needed to first speak with a nurse. I was fortunate enough to connect with Nurse Amy Weiler.
I hadn't been feeling well for a few months. My symptoms were vague; how could I describe them to someone else in a way that would make sense? Amy did the simplest of acts during the call that morning; she genuinely listened. And by truly listening, she did the most profound thing possible... she saved my life.
Amy trusted my intuition that whatever was going on was starting to get in the way of my everyday life and getting worse. She asked me questions that didn't necessarily seem relevant at the time, but in hindsight are extraordinary. Her recommendation after more listening and more questions was that I should not schedule an appointment in the clinic or even urgent care, because they wouldn't have a CT scanner. She felt that I should be seen in the ER, where they'd be able to do a scan to rule out a few possible causes of the symptoms I was experiencing.
The CT scan ruled out a number of possible causes. But it also found something I never imagined... a 5-centimeter mass in my left ovary. I told the ER staff that my maternal grandmother had died from ovarian cancer. Within about 6 weeks, I had major surgery; less than 14 days after surgery, I started chemotherapy.
Since finishing chemo, I've had genetic testing and learned that I have a BRCA II gene mutation. I've learned that I'm at significant risk for 3 other types of cancer. My daughters are now being tested for this mutation, and very possibly my grandchildren may need to be tested. As a result of the gene testing, we mapped out the instances of cancer on the maternal side of my family - there are 16 people on my mom's side of the family that have cancers related to this hereditary gene mutation. Now their families have a heads up about their own risk going forward. No one had ever connected the crazy cancer dots prior to this.
It's not lost on me that if Amy hadn't truly listened that morning that I would still have - and be unaware of - a malignant tumor growing and changing into its next stages inside of me. Because of Amy's thoughtful care, my tumor was detected at stage one. The oncologist has told me many times how rare it is to find a stage one ovarian tumor.
Amy changed the course of my life, and possibly the life of my daughters and my grandchildren. And she has had a profound impact on my extended family. Not a day goes by that I don't think about Amy. She is a part of my story, and I've let everyone around me know what she did for me that day.
Thank you.