A Blessing in the Midst of a Pandemic “I love hearing their stories,” Shelly said, “and I love getting them dressed, doing their hair and making them feel good.” What Shelly wanted most was to return to normal life. Little did she know, she and the rest of the country had another hurdle to face: the COVID-19 pandemic. Shelly’s recent cancer treatment, in combination with the medications she takes for her chronic rheumatoid arthritis, makes her immunosuppressed, which put her at greater risk for complications from COVID-19. Shelly, left, with her daughter and granddaughters
SHELLY STANLEY, A NURSING ASSISTANT at Masonic Village at Sewickley, awoke one morning in December 2019 feeling sick to her stomach. She knew a stomach bug was making its rounds, but as the day progressed, so did her illness, until she could no longer stand. In the emergency room, Shelly was given fluids to re-hydrate and was taken for a full-body scan as a precaution. Doctors confirmed Shelly had a seemingly aggressive stomach virus, but they also found something else. The scan showed a mass on her kidney, which was cancerous. “The doctor came in and sat down beside me,” Shelly said, “and as soon as I heard the ‘C’ word, I got anxiety. I kept hoping they made a mistake.” 18
Summer 2020 Issue
She thought of her two daughters and three granddaughters. She feared she’d be leaving them far sooner than she ever imagined. The next few months were full of tests and doctors’ appointments. Shelly lost half of her left kidney to cancer, but still considers herself fortunate. “If I hadn’t had that stomach flu, they would never have found it in time to save my life,” Shelly said. “They told me because of the type [of cancer] I had, and where it was located, it could have gone undetected for years. Someone was watching over me, that’s what I know.” In March, Shelly was preparing to return to work. She missed the residents she cared for on a daily basis for the last eight years.
“When I asked about returning to work and daily life, my doctors told me if I got the virus, I might not survive,” she said. Shelly was put on personal leave and self-quarantined in her home for almost two months.
“I was sitting at home and asking God what I was going to do as the bills kept coming in,” Shelly said. “I started feeling very depressed, and I was anxious to get back to work because I missed it.” Shelly says what happened next was what she likes to call a “blessing.” “I found out about the Helping Hands Fund, and I just couldn’t believe it,” Shelly said.
