Nurse of the Week: Oncology Nurse Abbey Lacy Takes Cancer Patient Skydiving to Cheer Him Up

Our Nurse of the Week is Abbey Lacy, a nurse at Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center in Omaha, NE, who took her cancer patient, Ray Jolly, skydiving during a particularly rough week.

Jolly is 66 years old and was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a type of blood cancer, about a year ago. He has since gone through six rounds of chemotherapy and now requires a blood and platelet transfusion about twice a week.

Each of Jolly’s visits to Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center for a transfusion takes several hours. In that time, he has developed a friendship with Lacy, his nurse. They’re both adventure seekers and enjoy chatting about extreme sports.

While Jolly was having a particularly tough week recently, Lacy noticed he wasn’t acting like his usual self. Many people in Jolly’s life say his name is the perfect embodiment of his attitude. Lacy tells 10news.com, “I was down that he was down because it’s not typical for him to have kind of a bum attitude. It was like, ‘what can I do?’ I was just sitting at my desk and, lightbulb, I know exactly what I can do.”

Lacy called a friend at Lincoln Sport Parachute Club and set up a day to go skydiving with Jolly. Lacy has been skydiving over 20 times and felt very comfortable taking her patient for a chance to cheer him up. Jolly loved the experience and has been telling everyone that he can’t wait to do it again.

A career in nursing can be tough, especially for Lacy who cares for cancer patients, but she tries to stay positive and keep things fun. For patients like Jolly, her positive influence makes all the difference.