Love and Scrambled Eggs

When Wanda Lane and Marcy Devlin learned their marriage was legally recognized nationwide in June 2015, the two women celebrated the milestone victory for equality along with most of the country.

Little did they know just two short years later they would find themselves in the midst of another fight. This time, though, it wasn’t a fight for equality. It was a fight for Wanda’s life.

“My doctor took a look at my scans I get done every year through our wellness check-ups, and she wasn’t happy,” said Wanda, Moffitt’s risk management administrative assistant. “She sent me to an oncologist, and once I heard that they wanted to do a bone marrow biopsy, I knew it was bad news. I chose to have the biopsy done here at Moffitt.”

Wanda’s instinct was right. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in July 2017. She immediately told her wife, an OR tech, the news.

“We just hugged each other and cried,” Marcy remembered, adding Wanda shared the news in a Moffitt conference room, since they were both at work. “I told her, ‘We’ve got this.’ We were in the right place for this diagnosis, and we immediately started a plan.”

After working at Moffitt for more than 23 years, Wanda found herself on the other side of the Moffitt experience as a patient. It has given her a new understanding of what our patients experience.

“I met Dr. Melissa Alsina, who explained what multiple myeloma is and how we would treat it,” Wanda remembered. “But I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear a thing. It’s true what they say. You just hear background noise while your brain focuses on that one word—cancer. I’m so thankful that my wife was at my side taking notes and paying attention.”

It’s a job Marcy took seriously and still does today. She jokes that she’s Wanda’s bouncer and will always look out for the best interests of her wife.

“I don’t want to be in a world without her,” Marcy said. “That’s enough motivation right there to stay on top of this. We do everything together, and I admit we’re probably way too dependent on each other. I worry about her all the time. But I will do everything I can to keep her safe.”

Marcy took time off work to provide the required supervision Wanda needed during her treatment. Whether it was driving to appointments or finding the right food for Wanda to stomach, Marcy made sure her wife had everything she needed.

“I found that one thing she needed the most — scrambled egg sandwiches,” Marcy said. “That did it for us. Those sandwiches got us through a lot.”

While Wanda leaned on Marcy for support, she also found encouragement from her fellow Moffitt team members. As she prepared for her treatment and the expected absence from work required following a stem cell transplant, Wanda learned that co-workers donated nearly 400 hours of PTO to her.

“That was just amazing,” Wanda said. “It meant so much, and it just solidified what I have always thought about the people here at Moffitt. They celebrated our wedding with us, and they came together to support us during the most difficult time in our lives. It means so much. They are our family.”

And it’s a family that has been a long time in the making. This year marks Wanda’s 26th at Moffitt, and Marcy celebrated her 20th anniversary at Moffitt on June 17.

Those aren’t the only big milestones the couple will enjoy in 2019. July will mark one year since Wanda underwent the stem cell transplant that saved her life. And in September, Wanda and Marcy will celebrate their 21st anniversary, a landmark they knew they’d reach from the moment they first met at an Ybor City club in 1998.

“We are opposites, and that’s why this works,” Marcy said. “I’m a foul-mouthed girl from the Bronx, and she’s a sweet girl from Tampa raised in a conservative home.

Wanda’s prognosis is good, but she realizes that she will always have to stay on top of her multiple myeloma diagnosis, since it will never completely go into remission. But with Marcy at her side, she’s confident that she will remain healthy and working at Moffitt for years to come.

“It was love at first sight,” Wanda said. “Marcy has a heart of gold and she doesn’t quit. And I know she won’t let me quit, either.”