After moving to 7C3, I repeatedly had Andrea as my day nurse. The first few days were just normal patient/nurse relationship but the more I had Andrea, I began to realize how fortunate I was to keep getting her. After a few days, she realized I knew very little about the disease (AML) that I had and shared her personal story about also having Leukemia. She was very honest and told me that it would be a fight and based on the few days that she had gotten to know me, I was more than capable of fighting.

I remember her saying, “I will do whatever it takes to help you fight this battle. You are a warrior.” Throughout the Chemo process, she assured me if had any questions, she would answer them for me. Every morning, she came into my room to ask me how my night went. She noticed that I began to lose weight and she brought me in premade Smucker’s Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches (as the kitchen was out of peanut butter and she heard me ask for a PB&J sandwich several times).

I have 5 children and have been in the hospital at least 5 times (3-5 days at a time), and I have never met a nurse like Andrea. I am beyond grateful that I was blessed to have her at a time in my life that came with so many emotions, yet I didn’t feel alone. Although the fight is not over and I am off to the next step, I will never forget the words of wisdom Andrea shared with me. Not only did she have leukemia, but she has been in remission for years. I will continue to fight, and always keep her in my mind as my inspiration.