The day when Tricia Somers, a 45-year-old mom with terminal liver cancer, met a nurse with the same name, she knew her life was about to change forever.
«She came in and I just felt this overwhelming feeling of comfort,» said Somers. «It was strange. I never had that feeling before and I thought she is going to take care of me,” she continued. She regards her nurse, Tricia Seaman, as her “angel.” After working at the hospital for 14 years, most patients would say, “There’s something about that nurse, Tricia.”
Tricia Somers and her son meet a remarkable #oncology nurse. Read the remarkable story. #SU2C http://t.co/S7or40OuoU pic.twitter.com/BDm3xWXgj5
— Stand Up To Cancer (@SU2C) September 29, 2014
When the doctors told Tricia she didn’t have much longer to live, her first thought was about her son. What would happen to Wesley? After all, he was only eight years old and didn’t have any other family members to care for him since Tricia is a single parent. But Somers was determined and found a unique solution for her situation, asking her favorite nurse, Tricia Seaman, to care for her son: «If I die will you raise my son?»
At first, Tricia didn’t know what to say. After all, she didn’t know this woman! She already had four children; how could she raise the son of a stranger? «I didn’t know what to say in that moment,» recalled Seaman. «I told her I was flattered enough [that she] asked me. I said to her, ‘Why don’t you take a little time with this.’ … I was trying to be very diplomatic, everything in me said was saying ‘Yes I’ll do it.'»
When Seaman spoke to her husband Daniel about the idea of adopting Wesley, he simply told her, «We need to do something to help this lady,» Seaman recounted.
When young Wesley’s mom became too weak to walk and get him to school, the nurse decided to welcome both of them into her home. «I can’t be your nurse anymore. I’m your family now,» she said.
Although doctors thought she would survive for only a month, with the care she received, Somers improved and was able to walk without the help of a cane. The entire family, Somers and her son included, were able to go on vacation together that summer. But sadly, the reality of Tricia’s illness caught up with her and she passed in December. Importantly, she managed to live those last months to the fullest and both she and her son felt loved by their new family.
«He’s a very smart little boy. We want to see him get an education and be successful and know that he’s not alone. He has a family. He’s not going to be all by himself,» said Tricia.
Watch the incredible story in this video:
We can barely imagine what would have happened to Wesley had this loving family not been there to take him in. It’s horrible to contemplate that his mom would have had to die all alone in the hospital. Despite the sadness, Wesley has loving adoptive parents, a brother and three sisters to support him and see him through this most difficult time in his life.
