[B][FONT=Century Gothic]This is a good story: Coming full circle: Woman who lost job after breast cancer to graduate from UM-Flint nursing program | - MLive.com [

]It was just a coincidence that Mary Long was assigned to a hospital’s oncology floor as a nurse extern — no one knew she’d been there before.

She used to feel scared, aloneand worn-down. She was the one who needed care. She was the one fighting cancer.

But her battle with the disease and the trauma of losing her job because of it are why Long pursued a new path that will mean helping others like her when she graduates from the University of Michigan-Flint’s nursing program this month.

The married mother of three made local news five years ago after the bank where she had worked for 15 years dismissed her because she had missed more than 90 days for medical reasons.

I was hurt, but it took something that big for me to see my real dreams and move on in life,” said Long, 42, who explained that she never went to college because she had children at a young age and her job provided her family’s main income. “I wanted to feel like I was in control of my future again.

It’s like everything was meant to be.

Long of Flint Township was only 38 years old when a doctor told her she had breast cancer. It came with severe nausea, weight loss and fatigue. It meant a series of surgeries, including a dual mastectomy. It also meant losing her job.

According to Flint Journal files, Long was terminated by Dort Federal Credit Union, where she was a loan officer, after extended absences due to medical reasons that included surgeries and out-of-town doctor appointments.

In 2005, Chief Executive Officer Martin Smith told The Journal that it was a policy to vacate a position after an employee missed four months of work but that the bank would have offered her another job when she regained her health.

"We are glad to hear that she is doing well, and we wish her the best,” Dort officials said this month in a statement to The Journal.

But for Long, the ordeal opened the door to go back to school to chase a new dream. She holds a 3.8 GPA and was a nominee for the Maize and Blue award, UM-Flint’s highest undergraduate honor.

When I think of Mary, I think of resilience,” said Kristi George, a clinical assistant professor of nursing at UM-Flint. “Her life experiences give her such perspective. You can tell she’s been to hell and back and isn’t bitter at all.”

Long will be pinned at a ceremony April 30 welcoming nurses to their new profession. It is an important time for her: This month she also reaches the five-year milestone of being a breast cancer survivor.

It culminates four years of packing in full class loads and clinicals year-round, committing hours to an externship on the oncology floor of Hurley Medical Center and hunting down grants, scholarships and other financial aid.

Long also spent recent years taking care of her grandmother, who had Alzheimer’s disease.

“Her empathy and compassion is transferred to caring for others,” George said. “I think that spirit that emits from her is what will make her the ultimate caregiver and nurturer.

She’s so giving and humble and selfless. I think she’s the epitome of a role model for a good nurse.”

Long hopes to find a job this summer.

I don’t share that I’m a cancer survivor with every patient. It doesn’t mean I know exactly what they’re going through,” said Long, donning a necklace with a breast cancer ribbon pendant from husband Will. “But I know that even though it’s not easy, you can make it.

“Every time I can make a difference for someone, it’s so rewarding for me. I have a new passion for life.”

Long said she’s grateful for good health now that allows her to enjoy other activities. She’s been able to volunteer with animal rescue groups, ride horses and play with 8-month-old grandson Caden.

“Having cancer, you feel so isolated, like the world is going on without you,” she said. “It makes you realize you have one life to live and you should live for your dreams.”