As a nurse on Atrium Health Levine Cancer’s hematology team, Georgette Caldwell was used to caring for patients battling blood cancer. But in June 2019, she found herself facing the very disease she had dedicated her career to fighting.
“I was working night shifts and started feeling off. I had fevers, nodules in my leg, shortness of breath,” she recalls. “I knew something wasn’t right, but I didn’t want to face it.”
Georgette collapsed at home and had to call her husband to take her to the emergency room. Her instincts as a nurse told her the problem was likely in her blood, and she had a gut feeling it was cancer. Tests confirmed her fears. She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and became a patient in the same clinic where she had once worked.
“I remember lying in the dark, alone, before they even said the word ‘cancer.’ I just knew,” she says. “I was supposed to be helping people with cancer — not be the one who has it.”
Treatment and a transplant
Georgette underwent chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant in 2020 just as the hospital started implementing visitor restrictions for the pandemic. “I called my husband and said, ‘You have to come now. Who knows when you’ll be allowed back in.’”
Her husband was by her side through the darkest times, but with a 6-year-old daughter at home, they often had to make tough choices about where he was needed most – at home or the hospital. It was difficult and isolating, but she found comfort in her care team, many of whom had once worked alongside her. “My colleagues became my nurses. I wouldn’t have made it through without them.”
Remission then relapse
Georgette got into remission and focused on enjoying life. She spent time with family, attended concerts, and traveled a lot. But her journey didn’t end there. In late 2023, the cancer came back. She had to undergo a second stem cell transplant in January 2024 but faced many complications including infections and a mysterious neurological condition that left her unable to walk.
“I couldn’t lift my legs. My feet felt like they were on fire,” she says. “Rehab was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My dignity was shot. But I kept going.”
Eventually, she was diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, or CIDP, and began aggressive treatment. She now walks with leg braces and continues to recover.
Back to work, back to purpose
Now in remission again, Georgette has returned to Atrium Health Levine Cancer and continues to work with oncology patients. “It’s heavy sometimes,” she admits. “But I’ve been able to talk to patients and give them hope. I share my story when the moment feels right.” She says her goal is to help others feel less alone and more empowered. “Cancer doesn’t discriminate. But knowledge is power. If I can help someone see that, then it’s all worth it.”
Throughout her journey, Georgette’s faith has been her anchor. “It’s God,” she says. “But God put the right doctors in place.”
Her doctor is equally impressed by her strength and courage. “What Mrs. Caldwell has been through is nothing short of incredible, and her story is moving. I am inspired by our patients’ tremendous resilience every day,” says oncologist Dr. Michael Grunwald. “We at Atrium Health Levine Cancer are working to bring more effective and less toxic therapies to our patients with the goal of improving both length and quality of life.”
Learn more about transplant cellular therapy options at Atrium Health Levine Cancer.
