Grateful leukemia patient thanks care team, paints butterfly mural

As she lay in her hospital bed, Susan Kressel looked at a whiteboard which said, ‘Goals: to be healed’. 

“I heard a voice, a spirit, say, ‘You’re already healed. You’re here for the people who are going to cross your path,’” said Kressel, who spent 70 consecutive days on the cancer unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. 

“I never did feel afraid. I felt all the right people were being given to me and all I needed to do was pay attention.”

Six years ago, Kressel was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a rare type of blood cancer which turned into acute myeloid leukemia this past January. It was an emergency admission, and she remained in the hospital until March, receiving over 150 blood transfusions, several bone marrow biopsies, and a splenic embolization.

“I went 70 days with not one negative interaction. Twenty-four seven, everyone was so kind and personable with me, they became like a family. They made me feel like I wasn’t forgotten. These oncology nurses are angels.”

During her stay, Kressel was able to paint. She did several paintings for her care team, including a portrait of a dog and a painting for a team member’s grandmother who had passed from heart disease.  

Kressel enjoyed learning more about her care team and painting for them.

“When you walked into her room, it was like a mini-art studio. It was very homey, very inviting,” said Colleen Coulehan, nurse manager of the oncology unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. 

For two years, Coulehan had been wanting to revamp an underutilized family room on the unit and transform it from a spare clinical space into something more welcoming and comfortable. She knew it had the potential to be a place where families can relax, play cards, talk, and discuss care options, including hospice.

“Obviously you could buy wall art, but I knew one day there was going to be an artist, one of our patients, who would want to give back,” said Coulehan. “I told Ms. Susan, ‘I’ve been waiting two years for you to show up because I had a dream about a mural.’”

When she was discharged from the hospital, Kressel began working on a butterfly mural composed of three large canvases. The butterflies symbolize hope for patients and families experiencing hospice and end-of-life comfort care, said Kressel.  

Coulehan and Kressel celebrate the butterfly mural coming to fruition.

Recently, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital rededicated nine rooms on the oncology floor to house hospice patients. The change is intended to help streamline care. Hospice patients were previously spread throughout the hospital.

“A few months ago, we repainted all the rooms with soothing colors like lavender, blue, and green. We dim the lights in that pod and we have sound machines, so families can have a welcoming place while they wait to be discharged to hospice care at home,” said Coulehan. “The family room is right across from there, so it’s even more utilized now.”   

In August, Kressel was joined by family, friends, and her care team as she presented the mural to the unit.

“People watch how you react to life, and that’s the biggest story you’ll ever tell,” said Kressel. “Painting this mural helped me realize you don’t have to be perfect to have it all.”