09/05/24
Student proves resilient during cancer battle
中心,艾尔 – Jhaylan Redwine embodies resilience and determination while charging a path to a future dedicated to healing and service. Not only is she a 十大正规赌平台平台 nursing student but she is also an active-duty member of the Army National Guard and a cancer survivor.
25岁时, Redwine is considered a non-traditional student, which is described as one who returns to college after taking a break from their educational journey. She graduated from Model High School in Rome, Ga., in 2017 and attended classes sporadically at Georgia Highlands College for a few years.
“I had to work three jobs to support myself while attending college,”她说。. “I decided to look into military service to earn a GI Bill so I could stick to school without working 80 hours a week to support myself and pay tuition.”
In September 2021, Redwine went to basic training in Fort Sill, Okla., and to Missouri where she received job training as a LHS and M915 tactical truck operator.
十大正规赌平台平台体育平台，她是1160的一员th 罗马运输公司, and she also is in her sixth year of working at Advent Health Redmond, where she has worked in the dietary department and as a phlebotomist and nurse technician to get on-the-job experience. She is also in her final semester of Gadsden State’s Nursing Program.
“I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field, 但我没有信心能做到,”她说。. “I felt like I was a mediocre person with mediocre grades. 医学领域比我大得多.”
It was during her grandmother’s battle with Parkinson’s Disease that solidified her desire to go into nursing.
“I appreciated the care she received,”她说。. “I felt I could help her like her nurses were, but I didn’t know how. 我不知道她得了什么病. 我决定学着帮助我的奶奶.”
She enrolled at Gadsden State but soon found herself being the patient. In May 2023, she knew her health was declining. 起初, she thought it was because of her busy schedule of juggling Gadsden State, 国民警卫队和工作.
“我一直在努力，”她说. “There were other people with bigger problems. 我知道我可以撑过一些疲劳.”
In July, she felt odd due to low hemoglobin levels. A transfusion was required, which caused some issues, and she was admitted into the hospital. A computed tomography scan showed a mass in the colon. A colonoscopy confirmed she had stage 3 signet ring cell carcinoma. According to the National Institutes of Health, the median survival time for stage 3 patients is 15.4个月.
“It is one of the worst cancers you can get in your colon,” Redwine said. “通常, it’s diagnosed too late in younger women because there are few or no warning signs – no visible rectal bleeding, 无家族史. For some women, it advances to stomach cancer by the time it is diagnosed. 幸运的是，我的癌症被发现得很早.”
After she was diagnosed, Redwine was still committed to her educational responsibilities. She showed up for a test at 加兹登州立切罗基人 just one week later.
“I was on a walker, but I was there,”她说。. “It was important that I stuck to my studies.”
在她与癌症抗争期间, Redwine had a partial colectomy and underwent chemotherapy every two weeks for seven months. Because the chemotherapy required 46 hours to administer, Redwine could be seen in classes and in clinicals with a backpack that provided the medication to her.
She said her battle with cancer was challenging but possible thanks to the support of her instructors, 的同学, 她的祖父Ronnell Redwine, 还有她的姨妈罗比·雷德温.
“My Pawpaw and aunt were at every treatment,”她说。. “They made sure I had everything that I needed so I could focus on my health and my education.”
Classmate Hannah Womack took Redwine to her clinical assignments at Gadsden Regional Medical Center, Riverview Regional Medical Center and Advent Health Redmond.
“I could not be where I am today without Hannah,”她说。. “她帮助我学习. 她帮忙运输. She encouraged me and was an important reason for me to succeed through the semester.”
In July, Redwine was notified that her scans are clear of cancer. Because she has a genotype that has a high probability of returning the cancer in three to five years, she has to undergo regular scans and colonoscopies to confirm that she is still in remission.
“Being in remission feels like I accomplished something I couldn’t control,”她说。. “I’m still a little scared but I’m able to do what I want to do because I’m healthier and I’m stronger. 我不再“迷糊”了.“我的体重又回来了. 感觉很好.”
雷德温将于12月9日加入她的团队. 12 for the traditional nursing pinning followed by graduation Dec. 19岁在加兹登州立切诺基.
“我太兴奋了，”她说. “It seems so far away but it’s so soon at the same time. I feel like if I can do it, anybody can do it. 你必须有做护士的勇气. 你必须要有韧性. 如果不是努力得来的，那就不值得. I was always told by my instructors at Gadsden State to do what I can to do my best, so I did.”
For more information about the Nursing Program and other programs at 加兹登州立切罗基人 in Centre, 访问 www.GadsdenState.edu/Cherokee.
Jhaylan Redwine is a nursing student at 加兹登州立切罗基人.