Cancer survivor meets mystery nurse who inspired her: 'She's in my life forever now'

Mystery solved.

Not long after Shellie Chapman was diagnosed with colon cancer, she remembered sitting on the hospital bed, alone with her thoughts and feeling scared. She had put on a brave face for her family and made friends with the hospital staff at Health First's Holmes Regional Medical Center.

But inside, she felt a little despair.

Then along came a nurse who comforted Chapman — she held her hand, cried with the 41-year-old and whispered the words that would become a lifeline: "You're stronger than you think you are."

Chapman, who proudly calls herself a colon cancer survivor, couldn't remember the nurse's name or what she looked like, but she vowed to find her, to thank her for giving light in her darkest time. A graduate of Eau Gallie High and former FLORIDA TODAY librarian, Chapman used social media to document her cancer battle and often posted about the mystery nurse.

Previous story:Colon cancer survivor seeks mystery nurse to thank her

From the archives:Shellie Chapman of FLORIDA TODAY Zap Squad battles stage 3 colon cancer

Almost a year after that diagnosis, Health First helped reunite Chapman, a server at Sonny's BBQ in Viera, with Debbie Cash, the 64-year-old nurse who had no idea how much her words inspired.

Tearful reunion

The pair officially met Thursday at Holmes at a surprise celebration called Sonny's Random Acts of BBQ. Surrounded by friends, family, media and hospital staff, Chapman and Cash forged a lifelong friendship.

"It's not an easy thing to get that diagnosis," said Cash, a fellow cancer survivor. "For me, I have to talk to my patients, I do have to connect to them. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but I just want them to know that I care about them and that I want them to be better, and they don't have to be alone."

At the barbecue party, Cash received a certificate of appreciation from Sonny's from James McNab and Joe Stagliano, who co-own Sonny's BBQ restaurants in Brevard and beyond.

"Every year, thousands of people are nominated by their friends and family, local hometown heroes, nurses, EMTs, veterans, teachers, and they get surprised with a Random Act of BBQ," said Stagliano.

"I'm happy for her because she works really hard at what she does," Steve Cash said of his wife, Debbie. "To me, what's really nice about this is she's representing all the other nurses here. I'm pretty proud of her and what she does."

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"There were many times that I thought I can't do this, that I wasn't going to be able to make it. So many times when we were doing chemo ..." Chapman said to Cash.

Cash replied, holding Chapman's hand, "But you're stronger than you think you are."

McNab recognized Cash and Chapman, who is on medical leave as she recovers from cancer and prepares for two surgeries: "It meant the world to her, so it certainly means a lot to us."

"She'll be in my life forever," Chapman said. "I love her dearly."

Who is Debbie Cash?

The Melbourne nurse has worked at Holmes for six years. Previously, she worked at the trauma intensive care unit at Westchester Medical Center in New York.

Before Thursday's Random Act of BBQ, Cash was recognized for saving an accident victim on Interstate 95.

While driving on the highway, she noticed in her rearview mirror a car that was drifting and slowing down. "It looked like they were in distress," she said. Cash slowed her car and put her blinkers on.

"The car went off the road down into the ditch and into some trees. I stopped and ran up. When I got to her, she wasn't breathing."

Two others came by to help, and the trio worked to rescue the unconscious driver. Cash performed CPR until fire-rescue crews arrived.

"I was screaming at her, 'you have grandbabies, you have grandbabies, you've got to breathe, you've got to breathe!'" Cash recalled.

She followed up with hospital staff to check on her mystery patient and thought the worst: "I couldn't save her."

Time passed, and eventually the patient's family contacted Cash and told her the good news: The driver survived.

"She made it. I got a real nice letter from the (Brevard) sheriff," said Cash. She also reunited with the mystery patient. "My family went to their house and had lunch. It was pretty cool."

Sangalang is social media strategist at USA TODAY Network-Florida.

Contact Sangalang at 321-242-3630

or jsangalang@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @byjensangalang

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