I was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June of 2016 at the age of 40. It was the shock of a lifetime. For being a small six-letter word, cancer can really strike the fear of God into someone. There are so many questions and the fear of the unknown is crippling. You feel like your world is spinning out of control; at least that's how I felt. Then I came in for my first appointment and met Shalyn. From that moment, I felt I had someone in my corner, someone I knew I could count on. She just has an indescribable way about her that puts you at ease. At that first appointment, she made me feel comfortable, safe, and that I was in good hands. She worked tirelessly to coordinate labs and scans so I could have surgery in just over two weeks from my first appointment. She took care of everything. Everything was such a blur at that time that I don't know if I would have even been able to do it on my own. She had most of my appointments scheduled before I even left the office on that first visit.
Once I got word that I was indeed a candidate for surgery, Shalyn made sure that I had everything that I needed. She made sure I had all my instructions and necessary after-care products. She gave me a great pep talk right before, telling me it was going to be ok. She has a quiet, steady presence about her that makes you feel that yes, it really is going to be ok. After surgery, I had so many questions as to what was going on in my body, with how I was feeling and if everything was normal. She patiently answered every question, no matter how silly of a question it was. If she didn't immediately know the answer, she found out and made sure to get back to me as soon as she could. I never had to worry that I wouldn't hear back or that I was being a pain in the "you know what".
At my follow up appointment, I found out that I would need to have additional treatment. To say the news flattened me is an understatement. I went from being confident that everything was going to be ok to once again feel that my world was shattering. It was Shalyn who comforted me. She is the one who looked me straight in the eye and told me I was a rock star, that I could do this.
Once again, she took care of everything. Before I left the office, in my hands I had who I was going to see and when I could expect to hear from them.
I truly can't say enough good things about Shalyn. It makes me wish I was better with my words so I could paint the picture of how important she was in my cancer journey. She is the best nurse I have ever had the pleasure of being the patient of, and going through cancer, you encounter a lot of nurses! She genuinely cares about each patient. She never made me feel rushed, or that I was asking too many questions or in any way being unreasonable, even though I know at times I probably was. I don't know how I would have made it through a couple of my appointments if she had not been there. She is a shining example of what a nurse is and an asset to the Bellin family. She is a truly amazing woman!