Kirstin Osborn
October 2022
Kirstin
Osborn
,
RN
Oncology Services
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
Peoria
,
IL
United States
There were so many moving parts and decisions and choices to be made. Kirstin, with her calm, clear, confidence led me through them all.
I am a writer by trade, yet words fail me when I try to express how much I admire, love, and respect my Breast Health Navigator, Kirstin Osborn.
Immediately after I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in June of 2022, Kirstin called to introduce herself and I thought, “Oh, great. A fluffy little cheerleader to keep my spirits up. I’m sure I can ”navigate this on my own.” Wrong on both counts: 1) There is nothing fluffy about Kirstin; she is sheer grace and grit; 2) I now know that I could not have “navigated this on my own”.
There were so many moving parts and decisions and choices to be made. Kirstin, with her calm, clear, confidence led me through them all. If I was frustrated with the system or the speed of surgery and follow-up treatment, Kirstin would calmly explain why this might be happening and always offered to make a phone call to help things along if she could. Virtually every conversation – no matter how rocky it may have begun - left us both laughing in the end.
Friends are amazed by how well I seemed to have handled this whole thing. I tell them, “it was Jesus. He never left my side, and He brought me Kirstin to be His Holy representative here on earth.” I finally understand the term “Godsend”. It’s someone or something that is sent by God to help you. Kirstin was my Godsend. I told her several times that I was amazed by how well she did her job. Her answer was always the same, “I just love what I do”. “It shows”, I’d say. “It shows”. Ephesians 4:15 talks about “speaking the truth in love”. That is the essence of Kirstin Osborn. “She always speaks the truth, and she always does it in love”.
Immediately after I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in June of 2022, Kirstin called to introduce herself and I thought, “Oh, great. A fluffy little cheerleader to keep my spirits up. I’m sure I can ”navigate this on my own.” Wrong on both counts: 1) There is nothing fluffy about Kirstin; she is sheer grace and grit; 2) I now know that I could not have “navigated this on my own”.
There were so many moving parts and decisions and choices to be made. Kirstin, with her calm, clear, confidence led me through them all. If I was frustrated with the system or the speed of surgery and follow-up treatment, Kirstin would calmly explain why this might be happening and always offered to make a phone call to help things along if she could. Virtually every conversation – no matter how rocky it may have begun - left us both laughing in the end.
Friends are amazed by how well I seemed to have handled this whole thing. I tell them, “it was Jesus. He never left my side, and He brought me Kirstin to be His Holy representative here on earth.” I finally understand the term “Godsend”. It’s someone or something that is sent by God to help you. Kirstin was my Godsend. I told her several times that I was amazed by how well she did her job. Her answer was always the same, “I just love what I do”. “It shows”, I’d say. “It shows”. Ephesians 4:15 talks about “speaking the truth in love”. That is the essence of Kirstin Osborn. “She always speaks the truth, and she always does it in love”.