Avera Cancer Institute - many locations, one Avera

When Bob was in the hospital for his transplant, he looked forward to a chaplain’s visit every day. “One day, the chaplain could not come, and I asked one of the nurses about it,” Bob related. That same nurse came in just a short time later and read some Bible verses and prayed with Bob. “It was wonderful. I thought, wow, this is a special place.”

Bob also remembers a morning during his hospital stay when a lady came by his room to ask if he’d like a newspaper. “She was so concerned about how things were going. I asked who that was, and the nurse told me it was Sr. Mary Thomas, the Senior Vice President of Mission. I thought that she must have had more important things to do than bring me a newspaper, but I spent five minutes with her and felt so much better. It’s just that personal touch.”

“The nurses acted as if they truly cared. They were friendly, happy, positive people. When I was in the hospital, chaplains came in daily and visited and prayed with me, and that was a comfort, too,” Bobette said.

Because of his wife’s positive experience with cancer care, Bob says he was less fearful at his diagnosis. “I actually was glad to find out what it was, because I was so miserable with my back pain.

When Dr. Kelly (McCaul) came in to talk to me about my diagnosis, I said, ‘OK, let’s get started.’ I had all the confidence in the world.” In fact, Bob started chemotherapy at 9 p.m. the very same day he was diagnosed.

“We both just had the feeling that we were in great hands,” Bob said. 