Leslie’s Chemotherapy Journey

Leslie A. Rudisel was born in Brooklyn, New York, I am Leslie’s mother, Eva G. Rudisel and I would like to tell her story.At the age of 13, Leslie went through a school physical that resulted in a diagnosis of diabetes. With the proper care and healthy eating habits she was able to control some of the non-compliant side-effects that affect those with diabetes. At age 16, Leslie was ecstatic she was getting her working papers from the New Jersey Youth Job Corp. Her very first job was working at Great Adventures Safari Theme Park. Approximately three months after employment Leslie became seriously ill several doctors examined her and couldn’t come up with a definitive diagnosis. Finally, after being subjected to many lumbar puncture spinal taps the diagnosis was viral meningitis, this disease caused her 3 months hospitalization. Unable to hold down any nourishment caused a dramatic weight loss. Slowly with inpatient care she overcame her illness and she returned to normalcy.

Leslie was finally ready to start college and prepare herself for a challenging career at the University of Pennsylvania and Vernon College in Texas. Upon graduation she was ready to embark in a new chapter of her life as a LVN at Denton Hospital, Texas. After many long commutes between Wichita Falls, Texas, and Denton, Texas, Leslie interviewed for a position as a correctional nurse in the Texas Penal system and was employed for approximately two years. During that that time Leslie and her significant other decided to start their family but as luck would have it she endured several miscarriages. The road to motherhood was riddled with lumps, bumps and heartbreak until finally she was able to carry her one and only child, Daelon to term.

A year later the family moved to Moreno Valley, California. She graduated from California State University, San Bernardino with her BSN. Leslie was employed by Heritage Gardens Skilled Nursing Facility, Loma Linda, as an RN supervisor. While there, she cared for a member of the Loma Linda Medical Center staff hiring department and was given a business card, the individual said “you need to work for us, come see me.”

She then went on to work for Loma Linda Medical Center as an Oncology RN. It was a similar situation when a doctor encouraged her to apply to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. She was hired and was placed in the oncology department where she seized the opportunity for advancement. She became an Oncology Certified Nurse and with four years of employment under her belt she entered the Nurse Practitioner Masters Degree Program at Azusa Pacific University, California. While in the program Leslie experienced some unusual health symptoms. It was during the height of the COVID19 pandemic. Many of her symptoms resembled COVID but she wasn’t positive for COVID19. After several tests the true diagnosis was discovered. Leslie had an aggressively rare Small Bowel malignant tumor, which had already metastasized to her ovaries, momentum and diaphragm. To hear the words “2 – 5 years of life left was devastating reality. As a new home owner, she didn’t want to lose her home because she could no longer work, but most of all she wouldn’t be there to see her son marry or have his first child was unimaginable.

She became sicker with the chemotherapy, the side affects were awful. She was forced to drop out of the masters program. With heartfelt sorrow she cried, the stress and pain was overwhelming “I will never be a nurse again!” We both cried because I knew how much nursing meant to her. Leslie has had several surgeries. The latest one took nine hours which included removal of any remaining cancer and a chemotherapy treatment stomach warm wash, I see the side-effects slowly developing. We both need to hear those words cancer free! Do we dare to hope? With cancer you just never know when it will raise its ugly head again! She will continue with a certain regimen and continue to be followed up. The surgeons and the surgery team were the greatest. Leslie put her faith completely in their hands and she prayed for God to guide their skillful hands. The Small Bowel tumor is rare not many surgeons have been successful in eradicating it. She will make a wonderful case study because she’s still here!

Hi my name is Missy, Leslie is my best friend. We met while we were both working as oncology nurses at Kaiser Fontana. Leslie has dedicated her nursing career to taking care of the oncology patient and their whole journey. When Leslie found out she had stage 4 Small Bowel Cancer and was needing chemotherapy and surgery, she never complained once. Leslie started out her cancer journey along side her fellow oncology nurses. She has had to go through 3 surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy. This last round of chemotherapy was the most invasive and it was surgery and chemotherapy together. It is called HIPEC it is a process where they heat up the chemotherapy and then after surgery they place it inside the abdomen to dwell for some hours. She came out of the surgery and is now in a watch and wait period. She continues to fight and is optimistic she will continue to live a fulfilling life with her loved ones. The purpose of this fundraiser is for the continuation of insurance premium, treatment, mortgage and household bills. Thank you for your support.