Patient Story: Spooner Health – Where Everybody Knows Your Name

You wouldn’t know it by looking at Lloyd Snyder: Not only is he a bladder cancer survivor but he is currently facing a rare type of leukemia. His disposition is jovial – and every nurse, provider and staff member at Spooner Health can attest to that. His positive outlook on life goes back to when he took a chance and asked out Rose Brock, a feisty, hard-working drill-bit inspector and co-owner of her family’s business, Falcon Drill in Cumberland, Wisconsin.

After serving in the Air Force, Lloyd lived in California working for a company that sold machine tools. On a business trip to Cumberland, Rose’s brother gave Lloyd an offer he couldn’t refuse: Twenty bucks to take his sister out on a date. If this were a Hallmark movie, Lloyd would have swept Rose off her feet and taken her back to California to live a life of warm weather and west coast sunsets. But instead, he completed his job and went back to California – alone.

But soon after, the business he worked for in California sold and Lloyd found himself out of a job. Rose’s brother then offered Lloyd a position at Falcon Drill. That was 1970 and since then, Lloyd and Rose have lived a fulfilling life together, complete with eight children, 14 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren (and one more “great” on the way!).

In 2019, Lloyd discovered blood in his urine and was diagnosed with bladder cancer. He was referred to Dr. Tornehl from Western Wisconsin Urology, a visiting specialist at Spooner Health. Dr. Tornehl treats a variety of urologic conditions and comes twice a month to the hospital for clinic visits and surgical services. Lloyd has nothing but great things to say about Dr. Tornehl’s professionalism.

Lloyd, with Rose by his side, came for weekly immunotherapy treatments on the inpatient floor, as well as routine scopes, cystoscopies and biopsies in the surgical department. It was here that Lloyd became resident grandpa and Rose was treated like family; she said, “It’s a family affair at Spooner Health. The staff here recognized the importance of taking care of the family just as well as they take care of the patient.”

During his three years of bladder cancer treatments, Lloyd also endured the pain of diverticulitis, which led him to a longer stay at Spooner Health. He raved about the nursing staff but his favorite memory from his days here was simply a shrimp cocktail!

Lloyd and Rose fought together through bladder cancer and diverticulitis and are currently fighting through a t-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) diagnosis. And where is Lloyd now? Taking his grandkids down the water slides at the Wisconsin Dells. Lloyd does not live with the outlook of “I have cancer.” In fact, he says, “Every time I come here, it’s not for a good reason. But I’m always happy to be here.” As he walks the bright hallways of Spooner Health, it is reminiscent of an episode of Cheers – everybody knows Lloyd’s name.

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