Gina
Schubert
November 2011
Gina
Schubert
,
RNC
Oncology
Saint Peter's University Hospital
New Brunswick
,
NJ
United States
Gina Schubert, RN, was nominated for the DAISY Award by her Nurse Manager.
Two weeks after the delivery of her daughter, C discovered a lump in her breast while breast feeding. After a mammogram and biopsy, it was confirmed that the patient had stage III breast cancer. The patient’s greatest fear was confirmed and she started an aggressive treatment of chemotherapy while taking care of her two sons and her newborn daughter. It was a very difficult time for her and her family as she spent weeks after weeks on the oncology unit with multiple complications from chemotherapy. The patient’s journey with Breast Cancer went on for fourteen years. In 2011 the patient was hospitalized on the Oncology Unit multiple times throughout the year at one admission she spent over three months. The breast cancer metastasized to other organs of her body including her brain, bone and liver. The patient would get multiple spontaneous pathological fractures. One Friday evening in July 2011, two weeks prior to her 48th birthday, the patient shifted herself in the chair and described what she heard as a “loud pop “ in her left leg .Her screams were heard from the nurses’ station and the entire unit all through the hallways. Prior to this fracture, she had fractured her right & left humerus and her right tibia, which were all repaired, leaving her very protective and fearful of movement. She had multiple pins and screws in her body from spontaneous fractures. She was taken to the OR and had her left leg repaired, leaving her more despondent than she was prior to the fracture. Leading up to her birthday the patient got very depressed and expressed to her nurses the guilt she felt for being a burden to her children and family. She expressed her disappointment for being a mother as her daughter had never experienced the love and caring of a “healthy” mother.
Gina Schubert, RN planned a birthday party for C. They were able to provide cake and apple cider for C and her family. Her sister was unable to attend but Skyped in for her bedside party. The patient was elated when she was presented with a huge mug with the poem “What Cancer Can’t Do” inscribed on the side of the mug and it reads:
Cancer is so limited…
It cannot cripple Love,
It cannot shatter Hope,
It cannot corrode Faith,
It cannot eat away Peace,
It cannot destroy Confidence,
It cannot kill Friendship,
It cannot shut out Memories,
It cannot silence Courage,
It cannot invade the Soul,
It cannot reduce eternal Life,
It cannot quench the Spirit,
It cannot lessen the Power
Of the Resurrection.
C cherished her mug and would only use that mug for all her beverages served by dietary; she showed it to all her family members, transport aides, x-ray technician & anyone who would listen. C presented the mug to her daughter & requested that she keep & cherish it. She was so thankful for her bedside party & was elated that Gina took the time to remember and celebrate what would be her last birthday.
Two weeks after the delivery of her daughter, C discovered a lump in her breast while breast feeding. After a mammogram and biopsy, it was confirmed that the patient had stage III breast cancer. The patient’s greatest fear was confirmed and she started an aggressive treatment of chemotherapy while taking care of her two sons and her newborn daughter. It was a very difficult time for her and her family as she spent weeks after weeks on the oncology unit with multiple complications from chemotherapy. The patient’s journey with Breast Cancer went on for fourteen years. In 2011 the patient was hospitalized on the Oncology Unit multiple times throughout the year at one admission she spent over three months. The breast cancer metastasized to other organs of her body including her brain, bone and liver. The patient would get multiple spontaneous pathological fractures. One Friday evening in July 2011, two weeks prior to her 48th birthday, the patient shifted herself in the chair and described what she heard as a “loud pop “ in her left leg .Her screams were heard from the nurses’ station and the entire unit all through the hallways. Prior to this fracture, she had fractured her right & left humerus and her right tibia, which were all repaired, leaving her very protective and fearful of movement. She had multiple pins and screws in her body from spontaneous fractures. She was taken to the OR and had her left leg repaired, leaving her more despondent than she was prior to the fracture. Leading up to her birthday the patient got very depressed and expressed to her nurses the guilt she felt for being a burden to her children and family. She expressed her disappointment for being a mother as her daughter had never experienced the love and caring of a “healthy” mother.
Gina Schubert, RN planned a birthday party for C. They were able to provide cake and apple cider for C and her family. Her sister was unable to attend but Skyped in for her bedside party. The patient was elated when she was presented with a huge mug with the poem “What Cancer Can’t Do” inscribed on the side of the mug and it reads:
Cancer is so limited…
It cannot cripple Love,
It cannot shatter Hope,
It cannot corrode Faith,
It cannot eat away Peace,
It cannot destroy Confidence,
It cannot kill Friendship,
It cannot shut out Memories,
It cannot silence Courage,
It cannot invade the Soul,
It cannot reduce eternal Life,
It cannot quench the Spirit,
It cannot lessen the Power
Of the Resurrection.
C cherished her mug and would only use that mug for all her beverages served by dietary; she showed it to all her family members, transport aides, x-ray technician & anyone who would listen. C presented the mug to her daughter & requested that she keep & cherish it. She was so thankful for her bedside party & was elated that Gina took the time to remember and celebrate what would be her last birthday.