Mom's Oncology Nurse: A True Lifesaver

Claudia Davis, RN, OCN, CBCN and Cassidy Poske PHOTO BY MEGAN LINDSEY SULLIVAN

Claudia Davis, RN, OCN, CBCN and Cassidy Poske PHOTO BY MEGAN LINDSEY SULLIVAN

A bad year was just around the corner, and we could all feel it. On January 8, 2011, my mom got breast cancer. No one really knew how to react. Everyone went into panic mode, especially my mom. I think mounds of questions piled up in her head, and she thought no one understood. The main question to everyone was, “Is she strong enough to battle breast cancer?” If I had to choose one person who was a true hero during this battle, Claudia Davis would be the one.

I never stop thinking about how much Claudia helped my family. I truly do admire her. The day my mom was diagnosed with cancer was the same day Claudia entered our life. My mom got a phone call from Community North, and Claudia was just chatting away, trying to make my mom not stress about everything, and she helped so much.

Claudia walked through every step with us. She checked up on mom during chemotherapy, and she even came to check on mom before surgeries. And she was there to give my mom a huge hug after her last chemotherapy. I admire her not only because she helped my mom through cancer, but because she also helped my little sister and me. Everything Claudia did helped us a ton. Everyone is special in his or her own way, but for some reason, Claudia stands out. I have never met such a caring and concerned person in my life. She always checked up on my mom,and every once in a while she still does, even after cancer. I am sure she was a busy bee, but there was always time for her to help my mom. Something I like about Claudia is that she has a very big heart, but when you overreact about something or you have thoughts about things that are not likely, she snaps you out of it. It seems to be that when you see Claudia, every worry about anything goes away. You feel so safe around her, and that’s what I love most.

So many things can be learned from Claudia — the list is endless. The lesson I learned from her was to think positive, and positive will be your outcome, but if you think negative, negative will be your outcome. That lesson really did help my whole family through this tough time. Chemotherapy turned out to be a fun thing, where mom would balance pretzels on her nose and dad would sneak up on her. Surgery was just another step closer to getting rid of the cancer. The biggest lesson of all from Claudia was to live every day to the fullest. Things in life happen too quickly, and I think that is true. My mom was fine one day, and the next day my mom had breast cancer. If you take everything for granted, you will definitely regret it.

Sometimes I wonder if my mom could have fought cancer without Claudia. Claudia is an inspiration to so many people, and I hope she knows that. Claudia has seen us cry, laugh and be scared. She led us to breast cancer remission, and we could not have done it without her. No matter what, Claudia was there for us, directing us the right way. That bad year that came around the corner could have gone down two different paths. Instead of turning left, Claudia led us right, and that was the best path for the Poskes.