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Sometimes, life works in mysterious ways. Teachers become students and in this case, the student becomes a caregiver for the teacher. That’s the unique relationship shared by Cordelia Schaffer and Kelly Moynahan.

Kelly had worked in public relations for the Huntsman Corporation during the first phase of construction at Huntsman Cancer Institute in the late 1990s. But, she wanted to have more of a personal impact. “I had a science background, so it felt natural to go back to school and try to become a nurse.”

She first met Cordelia in 2007. As an instructor at Westminster College, Cordelia helped schedule rounds for Kelly and keep her calendar organized.

“I was a clinical instructor for community nursing and I remember Kelly because she did an assignment on Olympic ice skaters,” Cordelia says. “It was a community study and for some reason, it stuck with me.”

Kelly graduated in 2010 and the two stayed in touch via social media. Then in 2021, Kelly noticed a familiar name on her list of new patients. “When I saw ‘Cordelia,’ my heart sank. She has a very rare name, so I figured it was her.”

Cordelia had been having trouble breathing around February 2021 and it continued to worsen. After visiting an interventional radiologist in September, she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. “She was pretty sick the first time she came in,” Kelly says.

“I’ve actually been lucky,” says Cordelia. “My care at Huntsman Cancer Institute has been so coordinated since my first chest x-ray. I get answers right away. The communication is always responsive. Kelly helps me with my paperwork and is someone I can check in with. She has all the qualities you’d want in a nurse. She’s supportive while maintaining boundaries, which is an undervalued trait. You don’t want to have too many people involved.”

One day, Cordelia noticed a poster hanging in her exam room. “It was for and I like to do stuff like that. I ran two half marathons and loved being active.”