Keith's Story

Up until the age of 30, Keith worked in finance and accounting. But his heart wasn’t in it. So he stopped everything, took all of his life savings, and went back to school to become a nurse. “To go into it with more of a clear mind later in life made me that much more motivated,” he recalls. Part of this passion was inspired by hearing stories from his sister, who is also a Moffitt employee and works in the bone marrow transplant unit. “To hear the stories and how they all interact with their patients was amazing to me. And then, on top of that, to say, ‘Okay, I can make a difference.’”

Today, Keith works hard to make that difference. The earlier part of his time with Moffitt was spent working in hematology, where he cared for patients with lymphoma and leukemia. Today, he is the Assistant Patient Care Manager. “My role is to make sure the patients have a great experience, that they get through smoothly, and everything's done in a timely manner. I make sure everything's taken care of, not only efficiently, but I ensure that patients receive the care that they deserve along the way.” And in his eyes, every patient deserves the world, because that’s what they give him. “Every single one of them leaves a piece with you as they go, whether it's a bad result or a good result. Every single one of them gives you a piece of them. And the fact that they keep coming and they keep fighting despite increasingly terrible odds, and saying ‘Nope, I'm not gonna let this get me down, I'm just gonna keep pushing through,’ that's incredible.”

Keith is quick to mention that he admires the courage and care he sees in his coworkers, too. “There are days when you think that you've provided amazing care to your patients and you've done everything you could, and then you look over, and your coworkers going so far above and beyond.” But in his heart, he knows that he gives his all every day, too. And it’s most apparent when a patient comes to Moffitt after having begun treatment elsewhere. “We’ve taken them in, done their admission, started IVs, gotten them cleaned up, got their chemo up, movin’, movin’, movin’, and that’s when the patient or their family members speak up and say, ‘You guys have done more in the last two hours than we've had in the last two weeks.’” And that appreciation, he says, makes everything worth it.