Lisa Bayles uses personal experiences to relate at St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital

April 2026 Article
Shared with permission from Steve Raymond, Effingham-Teutopolis News Report

When it comes to talking to a family or caring for a patient, Lisa Bayles can take the ability to relate to a whole new level.

Most families are extremely worried when their loved one is in the hospital due to a serious health concern. There are questions and a myriad of emotions that go with these intense situations.

Lisa has already been there and experienced that personally.

Patients may experience the stress, anxiety and down-right fear of a necessary, maybe even emergency, surgery. Will it cure the problem? Return a quality of life? Even extend a life?

Again, Lisa has been in that exact same situation. She totally understands what those patients are going through.

There are many excellent nurses in our hospitals and clinics. But it’s safe to say few have had the personal experiences Lisa can rely on and use to inform, comfort and encourage.

She’s a mother that had two children involved in a serious school bus accident – one of which suffered a severe brain injury. She knows what it’s like to sit in a hospital day after day, not knowing if her child was going to survive.

She’s also been a cancer patient that needed life-saving surgery. She has gone through the vast peaks and valleys of emotions, plus the pain, the feeling of helplessness and the fear of the unknown.

Lisa wouldn’t wish these situations on anyone.

But they have helped mold her into the nurse she is today at HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in Effingham.

“These experiences benefit me as a nurse,” Lisa admitted. “I understand how families are feeling. I understand why patients are so worried when they’re sick. I’ve been there, done that.

“I can tell families and patients, ‘I was you several years ago,’” Lisa continued. “I can encourage them. I can assure them there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that things will get better.”

Lisa and her husband, Brian, live in Fillmore. She was a factory worker in Vandalia for many years. They have two children – Brent, 35; and Samantha, 31.

Lisa is now a nurse at St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital and has been for 18 years. She gladly makes that 52-mile commute to Effingham multiple times every week. She is an RN in the Medical/Surgical Care Unit.

It’s a career she never expected.

Photo caption: Lisa Bayles with Kristen Forson

But on August 27, 2003, everything changed.

Both of her children were on a Vandalia school bus that turned over. Sami sustained a broken right arm, but recovered fully.

Brent, however, was not as fortunate. The then 12-year-old suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was in a coma for nearly three months and then spent 5½ months at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis. He has been in a wheelchair ever since the accident.

“I understand what it’s like to have a doctor tell you he doesn’t know if your child is going to live or not,” Lisa noted. “It gives me compassion for others going through that. I was there. I slept in fold-down chairs. I spent day after day at a hospital.”

While going through all this, Lisa was laid off from her job. Through the state’s Dislocated Worker Program, she had the opportunity to go to college. An opportunity to pursue a career.

“When they asked me what I’d like to do, I knew immediately,” Lisa recalled. “I wanted to go into nursing.”

At the age of 38, she started taking classes at Kaskaskia Community College in Centralia – a drive of 116 miles round-trip each day. In 2006, she was accepted into the school’s nursing program.

“I was the oldest one in my class,” Lisa quickly pointed out.

She graduated with her registered nursing degree in 2008.

But she was already learning on the job. To help care for Brent, she learned how to change feeding tubes and care for a tracheotomy. She also saw first-hand how physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy were performed.

“Taking care of Brent became part of our family dynamic,” Lisa explained. “My son was at home. My daughter helped, plus we had a care provider that came to the house. We had schedules, established routines. I had some day classes and some night classes. There was a lot of juggling involved, but we made it work.

“I was very focused,” Lisa added. “I wanted to do this for my family. It was an opportunity for me to have a career and make something of myself. I was so proud when I graduated. I did it.”

Lisa’s nursing career started at St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in 2008 as an aide until she passed her nursing boards. Eight years later, however, she faced another challenging situation. In February 2016, she was diagnosed with colon cancer.

“I thought it was just an irritable bowel,” Lisa recalled. “I went to see Dr. (Ruben) Boyajian. After the colonoscopy, he came in, sat down on the bed with me, gave me a hug and said, ‘Honey, you have cancer.’ I looked up at him and said, ‘Believe it or not, it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever been told.’”

Lisa also remembered Dr. Boyajian’s assuring words – “If you give me the green light, I’ll save your life.”

She also met with Dr. Philip Dy at Cancer Care Specialists in Effingham.

“Within a week, I was diagnosed with cancer, got my treatment plan and started chemo,” Lisa said. “It was boom, boom, boom.”

Her colon surgery was performed on June 6.

“Now, I can talk to my patients that are going through that,” Lisa noted. “I can give them encouragement. I can offer them tips. I can relate to those who have to live with a colostomy bag. Those things are so beneficial for a nurse.”

Lisa describes her role as a nurse in two ways.

“Nurses are the eyes and ears of the physicians,” she explained. “We’re also the spokesperson for the patient. We check their charts, understand why they’re here, and follow the treatment plans. But what I like best about being a nurse is the interaction with the patients. I’m a people person.”

She also likes working at HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital.

“They gave me a chance,” Lisa said. “I had never worked in the medical field, and they gave me my first opportunity. My co-workers are great. The bosses are personable. We’re not just employees here. We’re family. I love it here. I plan to finish my career here.”

And she is so glad she had the opportunity to become a nurse.

“I highly recommend nursing as a career,” Lisa noted. “It takes dedication and a lot of hard work, but it’s also rewarding. I feel like I make a difference.”

Photo caption: (above right) Lisa & Brent Bayles