There is a familiar saying, “It takes a village.”
This is a story where you might say, “It takes a Nation. Maybe a couple of them.”
Will Nation is an information technology professional with SSM Health who has worked with the health system for most of his adult life. He and his team ensure clinicians throughout all five of SSM Health’s regions can smoothly work with patients’ electronic health records.
Last December, however, Will’s world was turned upside down. Despite no family history, he discovered he has Stage 4 colorectal cancer which had spread to his liver, lungs and pelvis. He and his wife Jennifer are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year and are raising their two young daughters. While the disease threatens the life they’ve built, Will, at just 42 years old, is determined to beat the diagnosis and has no time for a negative outlook. More about that in a moment.
Throughout this crisis, Will’s colleagues in integrated health technologies (IHT) have formed a “nation” of their own, surrounding Will and his family with love and support. His immediate teammates raised $600 for DoorDash gift cards to supply the family with food deliveries. The greater IHT nation collected $2,000 in gift certificates. And Will’s supervisor, Sal Munaco, has stopped by on several occasions to see how the family is doing and fill up their freezer with home-cooked meals. It’s fair to say that Will and his department embody the “My Purpose Our Mission” movement at SSM Health.
To Sal, though, Will is the primary hero in this story.
“Will has been a true inspiration to all of us,” he says. “Will’s positive attitude is so inspiring to see and makes you realize that life is too short to sweat the small stuff – live life to the fullest and enjoy every second you have. Even with the little setbacks with his treatments, Will always has a positive attitude. It’s truly incredible.”
To see Will Nation now, posting selfie videos on TikTok (@BlueRibbonWarriorDad) that encourage others to adopt a positive attitude as he raises colon cancer awareness and keeps family and friends updated on his health, you’d never imagine that – just a few months ago – he was the kind of guy who was conditioned to expect negative things to happen, even in the mundane.
If someone in a long line of cars was going to get the wrong order in the fast-food drive-thru lane, there was no doubt in his mind who would get a fish sandwich instead of a cheeseburger. “I just knew it would be me,” he says. And, he notes, he usually was right.
Privately, he wrestled with anxiety, some OCD issues and minor depression. Externally, no one knew his struggles; he was a popular guy in a department known for its work behind the scenes. Beyond that, Will preferred to keep a low profile.
Social media? No time, no need. If his wife wanted to share, that was fine. He was content, spending his spare time with his growing family. At work, he was busy handling big-ticket projects involving computer servers and Epic as he and co-workers traveled throughout the health system’s regions to keep clinical data running smoothly.
But on his last trip to work on a system at the SSM Health Oklahoma health ministry, something didn’t feel right physically. He ignored it until he couldn’t, and then, with his wife Jennifer, made his way to the emergency room SSM Health St. Joseph’s Hospital in Lake Saint Louis, Mo., near his home.
The test results weren’t good.
As he and Jennifer struggled with the news in his hospital room last December, she pleaded with him, “Don’t leave me. I can’t raise these girls by myself.”
Just then, serendipitously, SSM Health chaplain Chris Dumas entered the room as she made her rounds. She saw their distress, and the couple prayed with her.
“As Chris prayed, I felt this weight lift off me,” Will says.
Chris has visited with Will several times since that first meeting. In her many years as a chaplain, she’s seen several remarkable recoveries from serious illness and noticed a similar quality among the patients.
“I feel like hope is the strongest thread among them,” she says, noting that is a trait that Will exudes.“Oh, my gosh,” she says, laughing. “Will’s hope overwhelms me every time I see him.”
Hope is the lens for Will’s life. When Jennifer spoke her concerns about their family’s future, a focus snapped into place for Will. He would beat this intruder. He would ease his family’s fears. He would not allow any other option to enter his thought process. Indeed, medical studies have shown that a person’s outlook can have an effect on their outcome, says Heather Schmidt, DO, SSM Health system medical director of employee well-being.
“Will has said many times that not beating this disease is not an option for him – and 90% of the fight is your mental state,” Sal says. “He is absolutely embracing that state of mind.”
Will’s TikTok videos chronicle his journey, his highs (the joy of coming home after a hospital stay) and his lows (speaking from his hospital bed after a rough session of chemotherapy).
When Will and his wife met his physician, SSM Health oncologist Pascale Salem, MD, the doctor had to convey the full weight of the diagnosis to them.
“I grabbed her hand,” Will remembers. “I told her, ‘Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m going to win this battle. Just tell me what to do.’
He has followed her instructions in full, even as he continues to work full-time.
“Cancer is a difficult opponent, and we use all the tools at our disposal to assist our patients,” Salem says. “Will is an inspiration to many people.”
Throughout this experience, Will continues in the hope that Chris’ prayer imparted to him.
“I feel like I’m being guided,” Will says. “I’ve given up control and placed it in God’s hands.”
First came radiation to shrink the mass inside him. And then eight rounds (so far) of chemotherapy, several of which have resulted in hospital stays from the side effects. Those have sapped his strength and can affect his positive outlook for a short time, he says.
“I’m not always on my game,” he admits.
He is grateful to all of the oncology nurses and staff who work at SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital in Lake Saint Louis. “The Infusion center and 3rd floor nurses are some of the most caring people I have ever met in my life,” he says.
Physically, he says his lungs are showing marked improvement, and the tumor inside him has shrunk to the point that the constant pain he used to feel has gone away.
Buoyed by these changes, Will continues his relentlessly upbeat attitude, and the videos that share that message.
“This is both the worst and best thing that has ever happened to me,” says Will.
While his medical future is unknown, that doesn’t faze Will.
Indeed, none of us know what our future holds, adds Chris, the chaplain.
“God is the god of mysteries,” she says. “In the mysteries, we learn about ourselves.
“Will’s witness and his faith are thriving.”
