A Nurse That Will Be Remembered

For nearly three weeks, Borbeck walked, fed and cared for Cupid. She even enlisted other hospital staff to help out on her days off.

“She was incredible; it was a big weight off of my shoulders,” Tasby said.

Beyond her deep love for animals, Borbeck has a professional respect for Cupid’s role caring for her patient.

“I realized that the team would really need to focus on Joe, and Cupid would need care while he was here supporting Joe,” said Borbeck.

“With the kind of work Cupid does, it’s important that he’s not getting ill and that we maintain his normality.”

When the yellow Lab ran out of his specialized dog food, the self-proclaimed animal lover went on a mission to find it. After four failed trips to local grocery stores with barren shelves from panic buying, the nurse took a 40-minute drive to a specialty store to ensure Cupid had the right dinner.

“Barb is extremely humble,” said Southern Hills Director of Marketing Cyndi Lundeberg.

“She didn’t just take the dog around the hospital, she took Cupid home and to our national park so he could get outdoors.”

Cupid answers the call of duty
Although Borbeck is the star of this tale, she said Cupid deserves some shine as well.

“I wish everyone could get to know Cupid because he’s got a great personality.”

With the hospital on lockdown, therapy dogs have not been making their rounds. Cupid dashed in to help.

“Just connecting with therapy dogs really aids in recovery and helps all of us as staff.”

On some of her daily walks, Borbeck visited other departments with Cupid, which she says brought lots of smiles during this pandemic.

“You should have seen the smiles on everyone’s faces; it just lightened their day.”

From one hero to another
Tasby and his Lab finally headed home April 1 after 21 days in the hospital.

“It was emotional,” said Borbeck.

“Joe is such an amazing man and Cupid — he’s my buddy. We are happy they are going home, but I’m so looking forward to visiting Joe and Cupid again when things open back up.”

Tasby says it isn’t just the physical healing he is grateful for — it’s the compassion of the heroes among us.

“If you find somebody at the right time doing the right thing, that’s Barbara,” Tasby made clear.

“Being a Vietnam veteran, I recognize heroes when I see them,” he said.

“We have so many frontline heroes. When a frontline individual goes above and beyond like that, you feel it deep inside your heart.”

“What do you say to a person who goes above and beyond like that?” Tasby wondered. “I spent a lot of time volunteering and helping veterans, and when I see something like this turn back towards me, it leaves me speechless.”