By Orli Strickman, Associate Editor for Campus Life
While many Wheaton College students associate spiritual fervor with the all-night prayer vigils organized by the Chaplain’s Office, Maranatha nights hosted by the Office of Ministry and Evangelism or Christian conferences such as Urbana, those who visit Student Health Services in North Harrison Hall may notice the earnestness with which the staff pray over sick students. Although the doctors and nurses are primarily there to meet students’ physical needs, they are also passionate about teaching patients to care for their health and encouraging them in their spiritual walks with Christ.
Lidia Nelkovski was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Jan. 16, 1960. Upon graduation from Loyola University Chicago in 1982, she earned a graduate degree in physiology from the University of Illinois Chicago. She received her medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in 1989.
A board-certified internal medicine physician and medical examiner, Nelkovski worked at Concentra Medical Centers and Interactive Health Services. She volunteered with cardiac and cancer organizations and began working as a doctor at Wheaton’s Student Health Services in 1998.
Beth Walsh, director of Student Health Services, said Nelkovski constantly inspired her in the ways she formed connections with her patients.
“She was such a good example to me of how to care for the person first and to recognize that they’re more than just what they’re coming to you for,” she said.
In addition to spending a lot of time with her patients, figuring out the toughest of students’ undiagnosed medical issues, Nelkovski was deeply personal, even in the way she kept records of her patients’ health. “Where I was taught to be concise in my charting,” Walsh said, “there was a personal element to her charting.”
Registered nurse Rhesa Hansen was always struck by the ways Nelkovski cared for the spiritual, and not just physical, health of those around her.
“When she walked by a room and I was talking to a student, she would say, ‘Can I just stop and pray for you?’ Whatever she prayed, it was just astounding to me. I would never think to pray that. She’s like a prayer warrior,” Hansen said.
Similarly, registered nurse Suzy Yoder said Nelkovski consistently took time to pray over her students throughout her busy weeks. “I always felt that after she prayed, it was almost like the Holy Spirit had just washed right over all of us,” Yoder said.
Junior economics major Jackson Miller said Nelkovski went above and beyond in her concerns for her patients’ overall well-being. “Dr. Nelkovski absolutely embodied Jesus to me,” he said. “She understood her vocational calling and flawlessly incorporated her faith into it; she genuinely cared.”
Walsh said Nelkovski was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. She underwent surgery and remained in the hospital for about a month before she passed away on Nov. 6. She is survived by her sister, Silvana.
Many of her coworkers came to visit her, and she would tell the nurses they were her sisters. “We’re not just coworkers, we’re sisters in Christ,” Walsh said. “We’re just so blessed that we can share our life burdens with each other on top of supporting each other as coworkers.”
On the day she passed, Walsh and her coworkers brought notes from students to read to Nelkovski at her bedside, and the outpouring of love from students encouraged Nelkovski in her final days. “We think she heard it,” Walsh said. “There were enough cues that it seemed like she was acknowledging them. That was a really sweet thing that students did for her.”
The loss was so sudden that the staff at Student Health Services thought she would come back to work. “We have such a great team that can sit and process together and cry with each other,” said Walsh.
Miller said she always seemed genuinely happy to see her patients, even amidst the sensitive aspects of patient care. “You really don’t understand how contagious her joy and energy were until you were around her. Words really don’t do it justice.”
