KCNC-TV (Denver) | Nurses throw surprise graduation for Colorado School of Mines senior diagnosed with cancer
A Colorado School of Mines senior recently diagnosed with leukemia graduated in the halls of his oncology ward in a surprise ceremony put together by his care team…Days before graduation, Colorado School of Mines senior David Boylan got a stomachache. When it intensified, he went to urgent care and then the ER, where a high white blood cell count raised serious concerns. "Within those labs, they saw something wrong with his blood counts, being his white blood cell count and his hemoglobin, his platelets, and within that determined that he was pretty high risk of having some kind of blood disorder at that point. And that's when he got sent over to us, and that's kind of our specialty," said Alex Meier, a registered nurse in the UCHealth Bone Marrow Transplant Unit…The diagnosis meant that crossing the commencement stage was not an option; Boylan needed immediate treatment. Come graduation day, instead of tossing his cap, Boylan found himself preparing for his first round of chemotherapy…"Cancer is not picky, and it oftentimes shows up in times when no one would expect it," said Elise Slater, charge nurse at the UCHealth Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. "I just felt for him, and then quickly pivoted to, like, 'Well, what can we do?'" But little did Boylan know, the nurses caring for him had something up their sleeves.