“Super SHEro Alumna Spotlight” - Maggie Coleman, RN '13

Maggie Coleman, MSDA Class of 2013, is a Registered Nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, primarily working with patients with stomach, colon, and other GI cancers. COVID 19 has led the hospital to make some dramatic changes - to care for those with the virus and protect those without it. Maggie’s unit has become designated as a COVID-only unit and she has undergone significant education and training to provide the best care possible to impacted patients. “While some things have changed drastically in terms of our environment, our patient population, and the gear we have to don just to share the same space as these patients, our mission remains the same - to guide our patients and their loved ones through an incredibly physically, emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically taxing time and to provide them with the best care possible.”

Maggie notes that one of the most difficult parts of caring for her patients is “not the time spent in the room with them, but the fact that we must limit our time in the room with the patient to protect ourselves and our coworkers. It is impossible not to feel the pull to stay right at the bedside with these patients to simply sit with them or hold their hands, especially when their families and loved ones cannot.” Maggie is looking ahead to the day we are on the other side: “I will remember the lives we lost and the pain that their families endured. However, from these trying times I will also remember the countless blessings I have had around me and the beautiful moments that have brought light to these dark times: patients we were able to discharge back home to their families after fighting this virus; the supportive messages and gifts from family and friends that have made me both smile and cry; the sound of New Yorkers cheering and banging pots from their windows each night at 7 pm; the way my amazing coworkers rallied together and the support that MSK provided for us during this time. Most of all, I will remember the amazing patients who continue to fight this battle and allow me to join them on this journey.”

Maggie urges us to stay safe, home and connected. “Be a light for someone else during what might otherwise be a pretty dark time.” Thank you for being the light for your patients, Maggie!