Oct. 15, 2025
Contact: Sara Diedrich, diedrichs@missouri.edu
Photos by Abbie Lankitus
For Dylann Henley, spending the summer as an intern with the pediatric oncology nursing staff at University of Missouri Health Care was more than just a stepping stone. It was a heartfelt homecoming.
Just a few months earlier in February, Henley, a senior nursing student at Mizzou, had completed 2½ years of grueling treatment for a rare and aggressive form of pediatric cancer called T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The life-altering news came the day after submitting her resumé and application to the Sinclair School of Nursing.
“Everything shifted overnight,” Henley recalled. “Before the diagnosis, I had explained away every symptom I had to something else because no 19-year-old ever thinks they have cancer.”
The timing felt cruel.
As she was taking her first steps toward a future in nursing, Henley found herself on the other side of the hospital bed, navigating a whirlwind of IV drips, chemotherapy, lumbar punctures, radiation and high-powered steroids.
Now, she’s come full circle. No longer the patient, Henley will soon be living out her dream, caring for young patients walking a path she knows all too well. After graduating from Mizzou in December — having missed only one semester during her treatment — she will return to the same pediatric oncology floor where she received treatment, but this time as a full-time nurse.
Henley’s determination to continue her education and pursue her calling was strengthened by the unwavering support of family, friends and the School of Nursing. Through a new Nursing Student and Career Success Initiative, she was paired with a student success coach who helped her manage the challenges of cancer treatment while staying on track to complete her nursing degree.
It's a true Tiger success story, one that began years earlier in the small Missouri town of California, where Henley was raised.
When life shifted
Growing up, Henley was a vivacious and active child who loved the outdoors and spending time with friends. In high school, she played volleyball and exercised almost every day.
“I’ve never been the type of person to sit around,” she said. “I like to be active.”
Henley hit the ground running when she arrived as a freshman at Mizzou in fall 2021. She pledged a sorority and played intramural sand volleyball and indoor volleyball.
Henley had long ago set her sights on becoming a nurse. Shaped by her mother’s ongoing battle with serious health issues, she became familiar with the world of health care and felt a strong calling to help others, especially children.
“I started babysitting early and found real joy in caring for others,” she said. “I’ve always had a nurturing nature, a bit of a mother hen. When I put all those qualities together, nursing felt like the natural fit.”
Henley’s life at Mizzou was in full swing when everything changed on a Tuesday evening in late September 2022. For weeks before, the once energetic student had been battling unrelenting fatigue. Soon, troubling symptoms followed: persistent body aches, unusual red spots scattered across her calves and frequent nosebleeds that were nearly impossible to stop.
She was traveling to Jefferson City to meet her dad when another relentless nosebleed hit. Unable to get it under control, she ended up at the local emergency room, where her dad soon joined her. After clamping her nose and running blood tests, a doctor delivered the devastating news.
“I think you have leukemia,” he said.
Within hours, Henley was admitted to the pediatric oncology floor at MU Health Care. By the following day, doctors had identified the specific type of leukemia, and chemotherapy treatment began just 24 hours later. Committed to staying in school as long as possible, Henley completed the fall semester online and took the following spring off to focus on her treatment.
During that time, she endured excruciating bone pain from powerful steroids, suffered chemo-induced toxicity that triggered a stroke, and spent two weeks in rehabilitation learning to walk and talk again.
Henley lost her hair more than once, but never her drive.
“I’m the kind of person who always looks for the silver lining, even in the darkest moments,” she said. “I just kept moving forward, day by day, week by week, month by month.”
Strength through support
When Henley returned to campus in fall 2023, the School of Nursing — along with her fellow students — rallied around her, offering steady support as she resumed her journey.
“I didn’t want to put my studies on hold because I had cancer,” she said. “I didn’t want the cancer to define me. I was dealing with cancer; it wasn’t my whole identity.”
Eventually, Henley became one of the first students to join the Nursing Student and Career Success Initiative, a new program designed to champion aspiring nurses and give them the skills and resources to not only enter the profession but build lasting careers. Through the program, she was paired with Meredith Buchmeier, an assistant teaching professor and student success coach. The two quickly connected and began working together twice a week to develop strategies for managing Henley’s time and strengthening her study skills. Later, they focused on helping Henley put her new knowledge into practice and sharpen her test-taking skills.
“Our initiatives are all individualized,” Buchmeier, who is a primary care certified pediatric nurse practitioner with a Doctor of Nursing Practice, said. “It’s much like nurses do with their patients. By individualizing care, we are bringing that same concept to our students.”
For Henley, the connection with Buchmeier has been invaluable.
“She immediately knew how to help me, and I often tell her, ‘I don’t know if I could do this without you,’” she said. “I can talk to her about anything, even my health, because she’s a nurse and truly understands. It’s been comforting to have a neutral person I can trust, someone who listens without judgment and is always in my corner.”
For Buchmeier, her relationship with Henley has been a true two-way street.
“That’s why watching Dylann’s resilience, both physically and mentally, has been so inspiring,” she said. “She still shows up to class, meets with me twice a week, takes her exams and consistently meets her objectives to pass her courses. In this room, we’ve shared happy tears and sad tears. Through it all, the entire School of Nursing has been in her corner, celebrating not just her achievements but the remarkable person she is.”
Coming full circle
Henley’s commitment to her education while battling cancer has deeply inspired her fellow nursing students, including Abby Shoot. Meeting Henley changed her perspective.
“I was so nervous about starting nursing school and overwhelmed by how difficult it was going to be,” she said. “Then I met Dylann. Her strength and determination were incredibly inspiring. It reminded me that I wasn’t alone in facing challenges and helped me put my own fears into perspective. Dylann’s journey gave me the motivation to keep going, even when things felt impossible.”
This summer, while interning on the pediatric oncology floor, Henley’s own journey through treatment gave her a unique ability to connect with patients and their families.
“I tried to offer support by sharing how I felt during treatment, especially with the parents,” she said. “Many of them didn’t fully understand what their children are going through, so being able to connect with them and offer some peace of mind was really meaningful.”
Through everything she has faced, Henley has discovered a resilience within herself greater than she ever imagined. Now, she is stepping into the next chapter of her life, returning to the pediatric oncology floor, not as a patient or an intern, but as a professional nurse ready to make a difference.
“There were times I truly believed I was getting better,” she said. “I’d catch a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel, only to get knocked down again. And again. And again. But each time, I got back up. I wasn’t going to give up my dream of becoming a nurse just because I was sick. Giving up simply isn’t in my vocabulary.”
