From Patient to Colleague: Fosston Area Nurse Treated for Brain Tumor Inspired to Join Essentia Health

The last thing Jennifer Beckman remembers is arriving at the Fosston emergency room. The licensed practical nurse, then 47, doesn’t remember her life-saving flight from Essentia Health-Fosston to Fargo. She missed a doctor who located a brain tumor and the emergency surgery to remove it.

Instead, Beckman would wake up in the ICU two weeks after suffering a brain hemorrhage, which led to the type of care that propelled the career nurse to one day work where she had recovered.

Beckman was diagnosed with a meningioma, a noncancerous tumor that typically forms in brain tissue. His had grown into his brain. It led to bleeding, a massive headache, impaired vision and a trip to the emergency room in 2019.

When Beckman woke up after surgery, her right leg was physically limited and her vision remained impaired.

Throughout her recovery, Beckman worked with a rehabilitation team at Essentia, who she credits with helping her walk again, teaching her the coping skills needed to return to nursing and demonstrated to her the type of values-based care that appealed to her.

“I wanted to be a part of this team,” Beckman, now 52, ​​recalled after finishing his shift at Essentia Health-Fosston in early June. “They’re patient-oriented and want the best for everyone.”

Beckman has been with Essentia for two years and currently practices in family medicine.

Today, Beckman eats brain-healthy foods, walks 6 to 8 miles a day, and continues to follow physical and occupational therapy recommended by her Essentia care team.

“We all knew Jen wouldn’t stop until she reached her goals, and she continues to do so as a nurse in the Essentia system,” said Jacob Vossler, rehabilitation services supervisor and former Beckman physical therapist.

Although she hasn’t been a regular physical therapy patient for some time, Beckman now sees Vossler occasionally at the hospital. “He kept me from falling into depression,” Beckman said. She also now works with the emergency room nurse who was there the night she suffered a brain bleed.

Beckman’s brain tumor and her recovery at Essentia have made her a better nurse and listener, she said.

In her current work, Beckman is able to connect on a deeper level with patients facing symptoms of anxiety, depression, or PTSD, because she faced these same symptoms during her long recovery.

Beckman knows intimately what it means to be a healthcare worker and a patient.

“Even though our life is about taking care of others, make sure you take care of yourself and live each day to the fullest,” she said.