From OHC
November 22, 2017
Thanksgiving is a time for reflection. A time of special gratitude for our family, friends, coworkers, pets and so much more including our health. As we join our family and friends in this season of giving, please join us as we remember those who continue to struggle with cancer and all the complexity it brings. Thank you.
Katie Adcock, Practice Manager
I could make a list of 100 things I am thankful for this year and they would include family, friends, grandbabies, health, work, coworkers, our military and living in the USA. But in this moment, I am blessed to be where I am in life, the ability to continue to grow and grateful I have people in my life who are wiser and more knowledgeable than I am to help navigate the difficulties and to celebrate the joys of life. I am grateful for the opportunities I have both personal and professional and that I can make choices that have a positive influence at home and work. I am blessed to have been able to travel with family and friends this year and have more travel planned for next year.
The greater part of my gratitude this year is the people that are in my life. Without their steadfast commitment to work together, to bring about change and meet challenges that seem to loom so large this year would have not included the accomplishments that have been gained without them. It is the blessing of people and the unique personalities of each person that make life challenging, rewarding and oh so very interesting.
Steven Bester, Billing Specialist
My life, my health and the activity of my limbs! I suffered a debilitating stroke in 2006 and I’m 100% recovered! No paralysis nor adverse affects!
Rhonda Bomkamp, Clinical Integration
In a 2011 Science Times article, John Tierney wrote about evidence that “an ‘attitude of gratitude’ has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others.”
I am grateful for so many things – the usual of course – god, health, family, husband, friends, and colleagues. I am also grateful to live in a land of opportunity where I could attend college and choose the profession of working in the health care field. This has come with so many life fulfilling wonders such as watching the tireless efforts and dedication of those that also work in the health care arena; making a patient smile at times when they need you the most; supporting a heartsick family when they need compassion; the challenge of solving issues in a complex line of work; and touching lives in an effort to make them better.
Stephanie Bonomo, Treatment Suite Nurse
I am most thankful for my health, family, and friends!
Aimee Brown, Advanced Practice Provider
I’m so thankful for my family. I have an amazingly patient and kind husband who keeps me grounded and reminds me not to be crazy. Which is helpful because we have two INSANE little girls who are always keeping us on our toes and pushing the limits! I am so thankful to be surrounded by great, supportive friends who are always there to laugh with.
I am incredibly blessed and fortunate have landed in oncology, it’s such a rewarding career. Not to say that I don’t complain, because I do, but working in oncology has really taught me not to sweat the small stuff. I meet the most incredible people at work, who have every right to be angry and terrible, but they aren’t. Instead they’re lovely, gracious and humble in the face of such a terrible disease. I’ve try to remind myself and others of this when I’m feeling annoyed and overwhelmed with everyday life.
Dan Davies, Systems Engineer
I’m thankful for my wife and children. I wouldn’t be a whole person without them.
Julie Devine, Treatment Suite Nurse
1. Family (including our pets)
2. A job I thoroughly enjoy doing and a terrific group of people to work with
3. A simple life full of happiness, love, and laughter
The simple things in life make me plenty thankful. Being an oncology nurse is very humbling.
Kari Dickman, Revenue Cycle – Patient Access
I am thankful for the opportunities provided through our wonderful practice to learn and grow so we can better serve our patients.
Donna Freese, Medical Assistant
I am very thankful that I have my mom and dad for Thanksgiving this year. My dad (89) just got out of the hospital with CHF and my mom (85) has dementia. This may be the last year with them.
Lesia Golden, Marketing and Communications
I have so many reasons to be thankful, but probably the most important is my family. That includes our wonderfully supportive four-legged family members, too!
Courtney Grace, Human Resources
This year has been filled with change for me, both good and bad, and more change is on the horizon. I’ve been trying to be very intentional about being thankful for the past, fully appreciating the present (even when it’s really hard!), and being excited about the future. The common thread through all of that, for which I’m most thankful, is my support system. My family, friends, and faith are incredibly important to me. They help me through the hard times and celebrate the good times with me.
Ajit Gubbi, MD, Gynecologic Oncologist, and his family
My family and I were sitting around our dining table for dinner and we were discussing our day and the events that transpired at school or work. We discussed the things that we were pleased with or unhappy about. I spoke to them about the article being published by OHC about what we were thankful for and why, and asked for their input, which triggered an onslaught of ideas. During this conversation, we were recapping the day’s events and incorporating what we were thankful for, even with the negatives we may have experienced. During this conversation, my wife mentioned something that resonated with all of us…We were very thankful for having first world concerns and not third world problems.
We sometimes or more accurately, routinely get caught up with frustrations because of events, such as: a meeting running causing us to get home late. The check-out lines at the grocery store, or coffee-shop moving like molasses. Not getting to go outside to play during recess because it was raining. Having another training class to attend to as part of our work requirement. Or, a few people being in a foul mood at work making for a terrible work environment. Although all of that is completely legit and can negatively affect our mood and thus impacting our actions, we do tend to take for granted what our frustrations may sound like to those that are not as fortunate.
We are blessed to come home to clean, running water. Uninterrupted electricity. A steady supply of clean food. A clean living environment with sanitation services. A local, regional and national government that protects our liberties and does not threaten our existence. A school for our children to grow and learn, which is not restricted or relegated to race or gender. Accessible daycare so that my wife and I may both pursue our careers and enjoy the light at the end of the tunnel from of all the years of our respective education and training.
For all of this, we are most thankful. And to be able to share of this together as a family, we are ever grateful! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! From The Gubbi Family
Erika Inabnitt, Medical Records
I’m thankful for the following: Good health. Good friends. Family. Laughter . Time. Love. Kindness of strangers. Most importantly, waking up today. J
Lou Ann Kerry, Insurance Specialist
My health. My family and friends. Because so many people are not blessed with these things, I am grateful.
Cathy King, Practice Manager
I am Thankful for Everyday!
Lisa Lasita, Area Manager
Nurses who take such good care of our patients.
Kathy Long, Lead Treatment Suite Nurse
I am thankful for my health, my home family, the family I have at work, and the patients I come in contact with every day. Kathy Long
RoseAnn Maher, Practice Manager
I am thankful for my family. They have molded me to be the person I am today.
I am thankful for my health. Because I am in good health, I have been able to am able to continue my education and apply it in the field of healthcare. I am thankful that I have been given the opportunity to work in a field that matters. I am thankful that I have the ability to help others and impact people around me in a positive manner.
Molly Mendenhall, Quality Assurance
I’m most thankful for my family, friends, and co-workers that have helped me through this difficult recovery post car wreck.
Yu’Londa Matthews, Medical Records
I am most thankful for my health. I choose my health because it allows me to keep pushing for myself and to help others.
Christina Rauch, Medical Records
Family, Friends and good health.
Jasmine Terry, Medical Records
I’m thankful for my loving family and friends!
Lisa Ovesen, Advanced Practice Provider
Difficult question to answer because I consider myself to be a very lucky person who has had a lot of blessings. I am most thankful for my health and the health of my friends and family. Wine and coffee run a close second.
Cassandra Thompson-Scott, Receptionist
I am very Thankful for my co-workers who are always there to listen and help me out when needed and lift my Spirts in my time of heartache. Go Team Wooster!
David Waterhouse, MD, MPH, medical oncologist and Co-Director, Department of Research
Again, this year I am most thankful for being on my side of the stethoscope. All too often, we take our health for granted. You would think that we would recognize this given what we do for a living, yet we are so knee deep in the care of our patients that we forget just how lucky we are. Compared to our patients, we have little more than “velvet woes.”
I also feel very lucky to be in this position to help our patients, their families, and our community. I am grateful that, through our ongoing involvement and deep commitment to clinical research, we will also reach beyond our individual practices to the greater cancer community.
