BY
RONDA WENDLER
April 10, 2020
Callie Piper is a planner with a
capital “P.” And nothing thrown her way during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has
changed that.
“I’ve always been ultra-organized,”
says Callie, an event planner with a human resources company. “There’s nothing
more rewarding than detailing every step of a project in advance, then seeing
it play out perfectly.”
Those planning skills kicked in two
months ago when Callie was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer called Hodgkin lymphoma.
“Fighting this disease would involve
at least six months of appointments and procedures,” she says. “My calendar was
about to drastically change.”
Callie shared her treatment schedule
with her boyfriend and best friend so that one or both could accompany her to
every appointment.
“I knew I’d need help remembering
everything the doctor told me,” she says. “And, frankly, it’s reassuring to
have a loved one there holding my hand. I’m a strong and independent person,
but cancer is scary.”
A plan for Callie’s Hodgkin lymphoma
treatment
Callie’s first visit to MD Anderson on
March 4 was filled with back-to-back tests that began at 6:45 a.m. and lasted
until 5:30 p.m. The results confirmed that the initial diagnosis provided by
her hometown doctor was accurate. She had stage II Hodgkin lymphoma.
“I felt vulnerable and confident at
the same time,” she recalls. “Vulnerable because I had cancer, yet confident
that MD Anderson – the best cancer center in the country – would help me beat
this disease.”
During the appointment, Callie met her
new oncologist, Sairah Ahmed, M.D., who spelled out the next
steps.
“She laid it on the line,” Callie
remembers. “I’d have six months of chemotherapy, and if that didn’t wipe out all
my cancer, I’d have a bone marrow transplant. Dr. Ahmed had it all
planned out – you know, I like that. Never proceed without a plan.”
COVID-19 precautions bring changes for
cancer treatment
A week later, Callie underwent her
first round of chemotherapy. Her boyfriend, Michael, was tied up with a work
assignment in Austin, so her best friend came along.
That’s the last time – for a while –
that a visitor would be allowed to hold Callie’s hand during chemotherapy. To
protect patients and employees from the coronavirus, MD Anderson was no longer
permitting visitors to accompany patients to appointments.
“The night before my second
chemotherapy session, I checked MyChart – MD Anderson’s patient portal,”
Callie says. “A notice appeared saying that effective the next day, March 24 –
the day of my chemo – visitors were no longer allowed due to COVID-19.”
Finding another way despite COVID-19
visitor changes
Michael had planned to accompany
Callie to her appointment, and she was determined that he would, despite the
pandemic.
True to form, she made a plan. She
would take her iPad to MD Anderson, and use it to bring Michael into the
treatment room.
The next morning, the couple drove to
MD Anderson. Because he wasn’t allowed inside, Michael delivered Callie to the
front door, then drove to an MD Anderson-designated cell phone lot where families wait while
their loved ones are inside.
Within minutes, Callie called Michael
to say she’d made it through the COVID-19 screening that checks for fever, and
was cleared to enter the building.
“Once he knew I was inside, he began
driving home, where his computer was waiting to connect to my iPad,” Callie
explains.
Another person in the room
As Michael drove, Callie arrived at
her first stop – the MD Anderson lab, where a technician drew her blood in
preparation for chemotherapy. Next, she proceeded to Ahmed’s office and met
with the medical team.
And she invited a visitor into the
room.
“I used my iPad to call Michael using
FaceTime video chat,” Callie says, “Then I sat my iPad in the exam room chair,
exactly where Michael would have sat if he’d been there.”
Callie carefully positioned the device
to offer Michael the best view of herself and the medical staff.
“It was just like he was in the room
with us,” she says. “The staff talked to the iPad as though it was Michael in
the chair.”
And Michael talked back.
“I listened to what the medical staff
said and took notes,” he recalls. “I heard the results of her lab tests. I
asked questions for clarification. It was the next-best thing to being there in
person.”
After her doctor cleared Callie for
chemo, she proceeded to treatment with “Michael” in tow.
He kept her company while four
cancer-fighting drugs were infused into her bloodstream for three hours, then
drove back to the hospital to pick her up and take her home.
“Having him ‘virtually’ there was a
nice diversion,” Callie says. “Time just flew by.”
The power of technology
The FaceTime experience was so
successful that Callie is now expanding her chemotherapy chats to include
additional family members.
“I have a wide network of family
support, but most of my relatives are in Utah and South Dakota,” she says.
“They had all booked flights to Houston and were planning to take turns being
here to support me, but COVID-19 put a stop to that.”
During this time of social distancing, Callie encourages patients
to use technology to keep family and friends informed and to stay on top of MD
Anderson’s latest updates.
“Check MD Anderson’s website and social media sites during this time of
rapidly evolving information,” she advises. “MD Anderson will tell you what you
need to know before you even think to ask. When cancer and coronavirus leave
you feeling vulnerable, staying informed gives you back some control.”
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