GRAND BAHAMA, BAHAMAS — Two weeks before Hurricane Dorian ravaged Grand Bahama and Abaco, registered nurse Daphne Roxbury, who had helped so many others through pain and suffering, learned the suspicious area that turned up on an MRI was what she most feared: breast cancer.
There are moments when she does not know how she got through it.
She had survived a major surgery for pre-ovarian cancer, diabetes, asthma, a resuscitation from Code 999, sleep apnea, the death of a brother she loved in a plane crash and now she was diagnosed with cancer.
It was mid-August 2019.
Days later, on September 1, the worst hurricane in Bahamian history swept through islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, hammering communities on both islands, including the settlement where Roxbury’s extended family lived in High Rock on the shallow banks of eastern Grand Bahama. Hurricane Dorian whipped up a raging sea that swallowed Roxbury’s beloved brother, his wife and their 20-year-old daughter.
“He was the brother I couldn’t find,” she said, trying not to break down. “It was rough, it is rough. He was the only person I had told I had cancer. I knew he would stand by me and now he was gone.”
For two weeks, she prayed for a miracle that her brother’s family and her daughter — 27-year-old Kahesia Roxbury, who lived on Abaco — would be found alive. While she was praying for family and others to recover from the storm, doctors were busy arranging treatment for her.
Dr Odia Stubbs, an internal medicine specialist on Grand Bahama, had studied the MRI and referred Roxbury to Cleveland Clinic Florida. With the first call from Shenika Nesbitt, the Bahamas-based patient care coordinator for Cleveland Clinic Florida, Roxbury felt comforted and hopeful.
“It was like a huge weight came off my shoulders,” she said. “It was lovely from the beginning. Shenika Nesbitt made all the arrangements and made everything so smooth and easy.”
Roxbury arrived at the Weston, Florida, facility west of Fort Lauderdale on September 24 and met with medical oncologist Dr Thomas Samuel. Following his assessment, she opted for a mastectomy rather than a lumpectomy. General surgeon Dr Cassann Blake and her team led the surgical procedure.
“There were two lumps and I did not want to take a chance,” explained Roxbury, who has been in the medical field working as a nurse her entire adult life.
Following surgery, Samuel continued to coordinate Roxbury’s post-surgery treatment with her physician back home.
“We worked with her doctors in The Bahamas to help them administer the correct chemotherapy plan and, fortunately, Daphne is doing quite well today,” Samuel said. “We were very happy to have participated in her care and help her as she went through this very difficult time, compounded by natural disaster.”
Roxbury said: “I have been a nurse for more than 20 years and I have never seen such professional work done. They provided quality care. It was excellent.”
She stayed in Florida for two weeks, returning as instructed for wound care and consultations to the facility that was ranked No. 1 in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area for 2020-21, according to the annual ranking of Best Hospitals by US News & World Report. This marks the third consecutive year Cleveland Clinic Florida has achieved this ranking.
“I can see why they have been recognized as the number one hospital in South Florida,” Roxbury said. “It was wonderful. They were perfect.”
Over the next six months, Roxbury’s daughter, who had been missing for nearly two weeks, took unpaid leave from her teaching job in Abaco to be by her mother’s side on Grand Bahama. They traveled together as needed under the care of her partnering oncologists Dr Curling on Grand Bahama who coordinated with oncologist Samuel. Roxbury’s husband and her 39-year-old son, along with other family members, provided financial support.
On December 23, 2020 — 16 months after the initial diagnosis — Daphne Roxbury was released and declared cancer-free.
Her daughter was by her side as the medical staff gathered round to cheer when Roxbury rang the bell and waved goodbye.
“Cleveland Clinic saved my life,” said Roxbury.
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