Medical Campus Student Honored Posthumously During Graduation
Christina Neal was known for her kindness.
In October of 2019, when her friend Claudia Moran told her she feared an abusive ex-boyfriend, Neal picked her up from her Key Biscayne home and took her to Baptist Health South Miami Hospital where the duo was part of the Nurse Scholars Program.
“It was just the kindest thing I think anybody’s ever done for me,” Moran said. “There are not a lot of people like that.”
Today, Moran is one of the countless people touched by Neal who now mourn her loss.
Following a decade-long struggle with cancer, Neal succumbed to the disease one month prior to graduating from the Medical Campus at Miami Dade College.
Neal was posthumously awarded a bachelor’s degree in nursing during last month’s commencement ceremony. The award was given to her family on stage. They were greeted with a standing ovation.
“We are very appreciative,” said John Neal, Christina’s father. “This would have been her second graduation…I just started to think about a lot of the things that she was deprived of accomplishing.”
A Fighter
Christina Louise Neal was born in October of 1985 in Queens, New York. She was the youngest and only daughter of John and Marilyn Neal.
A year and a half after she was born, Neal’s family relocated to Florida seeking a respite from the cold.
Ever since she was a kid, Neal learned to express herself by dancing, acting and modeling. And she also developed a strong sense of leadership.
“She was always spearheading everything [at] home,” said Gayle Harris, Christina’s first cousin. “She bloomed into that and never lost that personality trait.”
After graduating from Coral Reef High School in 2003, Neal pursued her dream of becoming a pharmacist, attending Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University. Six years later she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology.
Once she obtained her degree, Neal worked as a pharmacy technician at CVS and Target.
In April of 2012, the then-26-year-old was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer after she discovered a lump on her chest.
Within weeks, Neal had part of her left breast removed and began doing monthly chemotherapy sessions at the Lennar Foundation Medical Center in Coral Gables.
A year later, her cancer went into remission.
But in the spring of 2015, the cancer returned with a vengeance. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and it had spread to her liver.
Neal underwent two surgeries in the fall and winter of that year to remove 75% of her liver and started chemotherapy again. Within a year, the cancer had once again retreated.
Three years later her world was uprooted again. She received her third breast cancer diagnosis. This time it had spread to her lungs.
Neal valiantly fought the disease for four years before passing on March 16.
“She was a fighter,” Marilyn said. “She just wouldn’t give up.”
Throughout the process, Neal formed a close bond with Cristina Upegui, who has worked as a cancer patient nurse for the past 17 years at the Diagnostic Center of Miami.
Upegui took care of Neal after various medical procedures and went with her to doctors’ appointments. In September of 2015, she raised $2,445 to cover some of Neal’s medical costs.
“I try to stay away from getting personal with patients, but there was just a connection from the beginning with Christina,” Upegui said. “This is a journey that we put up with together.”
Inspired by Upegui’s support, Neal aspired to be a nurse. In 2019, she enrolled at MDC to pursue an associate’s degree in nursing.
After graduating with honors in 2021, Neal began working on her bachelor’s degree. That same year, she began working as an oncology nurse at Baptist Health Baptist Hospital in Kendall.
“She was very engaged and very eager to learn,” said Joy Mitts, who supervised Neal’s work at Baptist until she went on medical leave in early March. “She took a lot of initiative. She didn’t want to just sit back and watch what was done.”
Kind-Hearted Spirit
Neal was known for having a massive heart and a vibrant smile.
She frequently helped her classmates. Sophia Belisle-Jane, who now works as a registered nurse at Baptist Health, was one of her study buddies. They gathered to study three times a week.
“Christina was someone that you could honestly say whatever to and she would speak to you in such a kind of way,” Belisle-Jane said. “She was very open and nice from the first day I met her.”
Outside of the classroom, Neal and her friends unwinded by eating at Mediterranean restaurants in Coral Gables.
“She’s a firecracker,” Moran said. “She’s smart and kind and beautiful and funny. She just made me laugh all the time.”
Neal loved re-watching films such as Ratatouille, Fifty-First Dates and What’s Love Got to Do with It and took road trips to visit relatives in North Carolina and Washington, D.C.
Up until her final days, Neal often spoke with her first cousin Harris, who lives in California, via Google Meets.
“We can say Muhammad Ali was the greatest of all time, but I think Christina really showed us so much,” Harris said. “Her body—it wasn’t friendly to her—but she still fought to live.”
For the past three years, Neal reveled in taking care of her black French Bulldog Luxe. The pooch died on May 4—less than two months after her death.
“Anyone who remembers her is going to remember her fondly,” said James Neal, Christina’s brother. “It doesn’t matter how you remember her—as long as you do.”
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