Nursing student reunited with care team at Temple Hospital who saved her life

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Her heart was once in their hands, and now it's filled with gratitude.

Zipporah Washington, 34, survived a rare invasive heart tumor, while completing nursing school.

On Thursday, she reunited with the care team at Temple University Hospital who helped her fight to see another day.

The emotional reunion unfolded in the lobby of Temple University Hospital's Main campus.

Washington was enrolled in nursing school when she was diagnosis last winter.

Given the location of the tumor, Washington's unusual case required a multifaceted team to treat non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

After four months of intensive chemotherapy and echo-cardiograms to monitor her heart, she still managed to complete her nursing studies.

In June she celebrated her final chemo cycle by ringing the bell with her kids.

"I always wanted to be a nurse and help people, and I just happened to be on the opposite side of that," she said. "They really took care of me like I was their own."

Washington is now a nurse and says this experience has given a her a new perspective on both sides, as a care provider and a patient.