‘They Saved Me’: Nurses Make an Unforgettable Impact on UVM Student Amid Uncertain Medical Prognosis

Burlington, VT – When Sydney Hewit left her Jane Austin literature class at University of Vermont in January and headed for the Emergency Department at University of Vermont Medical Center with double vision and a splitting headache, she was ready for a few different things. 

Hewit was ready to learn that she had an ear infection – or that perhaps something was wrong with her glasses. Maybe she needed a new prescription, Hewit thought. She texted her friends and family just how definitely-not-serious her visit to the hospital was going to be.  

Several hours and many tests later, a member of the ED medical staff walked into Hewit’s hospital room and asked if she was comfortable with her friend being in the room while he shared news about what her care team had discovered. 

Hewit and the friend, who had popped by to drop her off a snack, cried together as the physician told them an MRI had revealed a mass pushing on Hewit’s cerebellum – a vital part of the brain located at the base of the skull. 

Hewit usually spends her days reading, skiing with friends, preparing for a career in secondary education and enjoying pop culture (she is, among other things, a proud Taylor Swift fan). For the next 10 days and nine nights, her life became a seemingly endless procession of tests, scans, blood draws and exams. 

To be precise: three infusions, two biopsies (one surgical), two MRIs, a spinal tap, a PET scan, a CT scan, daily blood draws and exams every couple of hours. 

Hewit’s mother was with her from the beginning, arriving in the middle of her first night in the hospital. Her father joined them the following morning. Having them close made a difference, but she still remembers how it felt to be searching for answers and hoping for the best, while also fearing the worst. 

“I was terrified. I felt helpless. I couldn’t make sense of why this was happening to me, or to my family,” said Hewit, of how she felt when doctors discovered lung nodules and inflamed lymphocytes throughout her upper body, and told her to prepare for a lymphoma diagnosis. “I’ll never forget those moments.” 

‘Morning sads’ and laughter 

Hewit would shed many more tears during her time at UVM Medical Center – especially during periods of what she and her mother would come to call the “morning sads.” But there was also laughter and hope. Hewit’s friends came to visit during her hospital stay; her grandparents and others from her hometown in western New York came as well. She hosted an impromptu Buffalo Bills game-watching gathering in her hospital room. 

The people Hewit loves – and who love her – showed up in a big way throughout her ordeal. So too did a group of nurses who Hewit says gave her strength and hope, helped her feel joy amid the fear, and found ways to inject laughter and silliness into days where that seemed unlikely, if not impossible. 

“When you spend ten days in the hospital, and five of those days thinking you have blood cancer – sounds pretty bleak,” said Hewit. “But every single day there was silliness and there was joy. There is this new circle of people who work at the med center who I now know and love, who showed up for me in so many ways.” 

Fear and gratitude

One of the first stresses on Hewit’s emotional and mental fortitude came early in her hospital stay: a lumbar puncture that was needed to test her spinal fluid as part of the diagnostic process. While the procedure is usually not painful, it was the first time Hewit had ever experienced such an intimidating medical procedure – and she was nervous. 

That’s when Hewit met Jean Bessette, RN, who gave her comfort and reassurance during the procedure, which Hewit underwent prior to her parents’ arrival at UVM Medical Center. Bessette, who has children around the same age as Hewit, said she instinctively knew what was needed in that moment. 

“Knowing she was alone … I just did what I do and became a mom,” said Bessette. 

It would be the first of many interactions with nurses who would transform Hewit’s experience from one dominated by fear and discomfort into a difficult time buoyed by moments of joy and gratitude. 

Registered nurse and breast cancer survivor Tiffany Elias, RN, shared her own experience with Hewit and helped her overcome the “morning sads.” Tovah Coe, RN, chatted with Hewit about pop culture, sang her numbers from High School Musical and helped her turn a portable urinal into a flower vase; and nursing student Maggie Cartwright, LNA, cared for Hewit throughout her 10-day stay in the hospital and helped her work through infusion-related bouts of nausea.   

“They made the experience for me and my family so much more survivable emotionally,” said Hewit of the nurses’ impact during her time at UVM Medical Center. 

Diagnosis and reunion 

Ultimately, Hewit’s care team determined that the mass in her brain was not caused by cancer. She was diagnosed with sarcoidosis, a condition that causes the body’s immune system to overreact and inflames lymph nodes. The exact cause of sarcoidosis is unknown. 

Three months after her initial diagnosis, Hewit’s health continues to improve. The mass in her brain has shrunk dramatically and she continues to visit UVM Medical Center for routine checkups. 

On one such visit, Elias, Coe, Cartwright, Bessette and other nurses who helped care for Hewit during her hospital stay surprised her with an impromptu reunion. Cartwright said that just as the nurses made an impact on Hewit’s life, she and her family made an impact on them. 

“Sydney reminds me of a quote a nurse shared when I first started: It takes courage to be kind, especially in difficult situations,” said Cartwright. “Even though she was here, Sydney and her mom and her family showed kindness and positivity every single day. I feel honored that I got to meet her, because I feel like she changed me as a person.” 

As Hewit prepares for finals week at University of Vermont and plans to return home to western New York for the summer, her medical journey is not over. But, she said, she’s got a new group of friends whose love and support will follow her wherever she goes. 

“I have a love for them and so much gratitude,” said Hewit of the nurses. “They saved me.”