13 extraordinary days
December 22, 2021
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by an MD Anderson Cancer Center medical professional on December 22, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic. The winter freeze. A national blood shortage. The launch of our new Strategy.
These are just a few of the big stories from the past year that impacted our work here at MD Anderson. But cancer didn’t stop – and neither did we. We looked toward the future, and also took things one day at a time. Even in the face of challenges, we found opportunities and reasons for hope.
While every day at MD Anderson is extraordinary, here are 13 days that stood out in Fiscal Year 2021. Experience them through the eyes of our employees, students, patients, donors and caregivers.
1. The day the first COVID-19 vaccine vials arrived
Stefani Gautreaux remembers being very nervous as the delivery truck backed up to our loading dock on Dec. 14, 2020. MD Anderson was the first hospital in the Texas Medical Center to receive COVID-19 vaccines – and she was there to receive them. Here's how she recalls that historic day.
2. The day we launched our new Strategy
“It felt surreal.” That’s how Danielle Hay describes Jan. 28, 2021, the day MD Anderson launched our new organizational strategy, after years of creating this blueprint for our future. Learn how the Strategy came to life – and what it meant to Hay.
3. The day I got a Houston Dynamo FC contract
The happiest day of Arav Patil's life was the day he learned his leukemia was in remission. The second happiest? When Houston Dynamo FC gave him and 10 of our other childhood cancer patients contracts to be honorary team members. Experience his joy.
4. The day we received our fifth Magnet accreditation
Not many people can say they work at a five-time Magnet-designated hospital. But MD Anderson employees, including clinical nurse Tiambe Kuykendall, now can. See what this nursing distinction means to Kuykendall.
5. The day we began vaccinating our cancer patients
Many of our immunocompromised cancer patients had been living in fear of getting COVID-19 for nearly a year when MD Anderson launched our first patient vaccination clinic last January. Jesseka Landin felt honored that she could help reassure patients by coordinating these clinics. Read her recollections.
Devina Patel has seen hurricanes, floods and freezes in her 22 years at MD Anderson – but nothing like last February’s freeze. As director of Environmental Health and Safety, Sustainability and Emergency Management, Patel reflects on how MD Anderson’s employees came together during the storm.
7. The day I made a gift to support MD Anderson’s mission
Before she died, Jackie Brady and her husband, William, updated their wills to make gifts through their estate to MD Anderson to help our researchers make advances in cancer treatment. But after Jackie died, William decided he also wanted to make a donation while he was alive to fund Dr. Vivek Subbiah’s research projects. Read how MD Anderson impacted the couple.
8. The day we welcomed visitors back to campus
June 28 is a day Debbie Wright will always remember. That was the day we began welcoming visitors back to our campuses after 15 months. Here's why it meant so much to Wright and her colleagues.
9. The day I became a caregiver at MD Anderson
Judy Garcia was a little worried when her mom, Maria, was first diagnosed with breast cancer. But the breast ultrasound technologist took comfort in knowing her colleagues at MD Anderson The Woodlands care for patients like her mom every day. Here’s what she learned when she saw MD Anderson from a different perspective.
10. The day a drug tested through a clinical trial received FDA approval
When Dr. Ferdinandos Skoulidis found out the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved a new drug for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, his ordinary day turned into an extraordinary one. “Over the phone, I heard screams of delight, and tears of joy,” he recalls of the reactions from the patients he called that day. Find out why Skoulidis calls this the pinnacle of his career.
Rolando Vedia never expected to write most of his master’s thesis without being able to go into the lab. But that’s what happened due to COVID-19. So, when Vedia attended graduation in person this past summer, the day took on extra meaning. Read his story.
12. The day I decided to start donating blood at MD Anderson
By the time her husband was diagnosed with bile duct cancer, Melissa Fuquay Baker had been donating blood for nearly 20 years. But when a national blood shortage affected her husband’s treatment, she realized the importance of donating at MD Anderson. Here’s how donating blood empowers her.
13. The day I was declared cancer-free
Mallory Parrish got to ring the bell to mark the end of her stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma treatment last February. But before she reached that milestone, she had to learn to celebrate life’s little victories. Learn how that helped her.
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