Meet the Philadelphia-area woman fighting for her life – and to become a nurse
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Alexis Rodriguez's life seemed to be unfolding perfectly. By 26, she was engaged to the love of her life, Jeff, had welcomed an adorable baby girl named Ella, and was starting a demanding three-year nursing program at Chamberlain University in New Jersey.
However, on Aug. 9, 2023, at 28, Rodriguez was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
"It's been very difficult because when I first got diagnosed, I was three classes away," Rodriguez, now 29, said. "It's hard juggling everything — everything that the doctors say and what your body is feeling."
Over the next year, Rodriguez fought cancer while continuing her studies and caring for her daughter. After she went into remission, doctors at Penn Medicine discovered a severe, life-threatening fungal infection.
"It's like a 1% survival rate," Rodriguez said. "It's just seeing what each day brings."
Despite the challenges, Rodriguez refuses to let life pass her by. She and Jeff had their wedding in the hospital halls, thanks to the vision of one of her nurses.
"Literally just talking about it with my mom, getting married and being in a white dress, and having the nurse overhearing and then her stepping out of the room and being like, 'I emailed 600 nurses, do you mind if we have the wedding?'" Rodriguez recalled.
With less than four days' notice, both families flew in to see the couple walk down the aisle, with Ella by their side.
"I felt like I was on cloud nine. I was ecstatic to marry him. He's been a huge support system. I couldn't do it without him or my mom," Rodriguez said.
"It was so surreal. It was like, wow," Jeffrey Striddels, Rodriguez's husband, said. He described the event as emotional and perfect, noting, "She looked so beautiful."
Another part of Rodriguez's life plan — graduating from nursing school — has proven more difficult. Her hospital stays have left her one class short of completing the program, and as her condition worsens, doctors are unsure if she will live to see her classmates graduate on Sept. 6.
"You go through so much and you study all day, ace the test …" Rodriguez said. "The people that you're with, the group you make friends with, they're your whole support system." She added, "Just to walk up that stage would be great."
Rodriguez's passion for nursing grew while caring for her father, who died during the pandemic. Now, Ella is the light that drives her to keep going.
"She's my world. She's the best blessing," Rodriguez said. "I just want her to know to never give up…nothing is ever finished."
Her mother, Damaris Pitri, prays for a miracle that will allow Rodriguez to become the maternal-infant nurse she has always dreamed of being.
"I just want people to see the resilience that my daughter has, how strong she is," Pitri said. "God can do a miracle. Instant miracle. It's just having that faith, so that's what I believe."
Rodriguez shares that belief. For now, she is being treated with antibiotics and clinging to the hope that she can overcome the odds.
"You just keep pushing no matter what," Rodriguez said.