| Message from Karen |
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if I had gone to the doctor to discuss a hysterectomy I needed and to see if we had
authorization and then schedule a date. She said she wanted to come to take
care of me and wanted to schedule her vacation time. I also remember that
conversation so vividly as she said she hoped her back was feeling better as she
had been having alot of discomfort. I told her I would email her as soon as I had
the date. A few days later on February 2, 2002, I received a surprising call from
Robin. The call she made to me that day was a conversation I will never forget
and a conversation that changed my life forever.
.
Robin told me that she had collapsed from her back pain, and in the diagnostic
tests that followed, it was discovered that Robin had Stage 4 Breast Cancer, with
metastasis to her spine, lungs and liver. She sounded so scared, so lost, and
confused about what to do. Her back needed immediate treatment to remove the
tumor and strengthen the spine with a cement procedure, so that it would not
collapse. She needed radiation treatment on her spine, and she needed to start
chemotherapy for the cancer in her breast, liver and lung. She was too sick to
travel so her treatment and surgery were going to be done overseas. Robin had
been overseas for 17 years, and was lucky to have a wonderful support group of
friends, nurses and doctors to care for her. However, she had been given a
prognosis of 3 - 6 months, even with treatment, which was terrifying. It was from
that moment on that our roles reversed. Robin who had always been the nurturing
sister, the helpful sister, the friend who assisted with everyone's problems,
emotionally or financially, was now fighting for her life and reaching out for help.
February 2, 2002 was the day Robin and I started our journey on the roller coaster
called Breast Cancer.
As Robin started her treatments overseas, I went into my advocate role and
began finding out everything I could about Stage 4 Breast Cancer. Consulting with
a wonderful Doctor at the City of Hope, who spoke with Robin's doctors overseas
about her treatment options and saw her and her doctors overseas thru every
step of her treatment and life emergencies which there were many. This
wonderful man was so endearing to Robin and I cannot think of enough words or
thoughts that could ever express my everlasting thanks to this kind and brilliant
man. We looked forward to the day we could bring her back to the States. This
was very challenging, as Robin did not have health insurance in the United States.
She was covered by the hospital she worked for overseas, so I spent many of my
days looking for affordable insurance, finding out about Medi-cal, SSI, and any
programs that were available to offer her help if we could get her well enough to
come home.
Robin did return home to California in August, 2002. Hardly walking, with no hair,
bloated from steroids and treatments, but the most beautiful sight I ever lied eyes
on was when she got off that plane. From that day forward, Robin and I became
bonded in souls. She treated at the City of Hope for almost 7 years with the most
fantastic team of doctors we could be blessed with. She had so many setbacks
with her spine, reoccurance in her breast, new metastasis in her hips and femur,
seizures, Horners Syndrome, just too many to document. Despite this, my sister
was remarkable. She always pushed herself forward. She always looked at
everyday with hope and unselfishly looked to help her family and friends with their
problems, even in the times when she could barely withstand her own pain and
we were financially crumbling.
During those 7 years, Robin and I learned the importance of true, meaningful,
lifelong friends. The friends that stay with you and support you through all the
trials and tribulations that this disease brings. The importance of community and
how they will rally around your cause to help in ways that we could never believe
or thank enough for. The importance of family, and spending the time you have
been given with them. The importance of hope, tolerance and unconditional love.
Learning to trust each other and know when it was time to reach out to others.
Robin and I lived together until she became too sick for me to take care of alone.
We had a wonderful hospice organization that came a few days a week, which
really helped. However, as Robin's health continued to deteriorate, her fears
of having to go to a nursing home weighed very heavily on her mind. I promised
her I would not put her in a nursing home, and I continued asking, begging and
fund-raising to keep her home with skilled help in the evenings.
We had a very good friend who knew of a "social hospice model" that we
went to visit and were told that Robin could have a room there. It was a house that
was dedicated to providing low income patients with a lovely and peaceful place
to live. Where each "resident' had their own room, with their own things, and a
dining room and chef to prepare meals. This location also had a lovely living room
with TV, piano and enough space to have gatherings for families, parties and
resident get-togethers. In addition, they had a staff composed of the most loving,
caring and patient people, who gave their care 24 hours a day. Doctors and
nurses were not on sight, but they visited through a local hospice organization a
few times a week or as needed. It was truly a place to call home. When Robin had
a seizure and could no longer stay with me, this is were she spent her final
months. I have so much admiration for the staff, that I now consider my friends.
All of my gratitude for them could never seem like enough.
Our friend, Teresa, who organized this for us, had been trying for a couple of years
to open a "model" of that house in our local community, the Conejo Valley. This
was one of Robin's passions, and she repeatedly asked Teresa if she was ready
to have her move in to her house, which would be called, "Our Community House
of Hope". Robin wanted to be the first resident, and was very determined to help
Teresa accomplish her dream. This became one of our promises to each other.
To see this type of care offered not just in our area, but across the country. In
addition, to ask all of her friends and acquaintances to purchase a bracelet from
our website to keep her legacy alive and to fulfill our promise to each other to
continue to stay in the fight to find a cure and help women with breast cancer by
providing them with information and resources that are available to them.
It brought Robin so much pride to make these bracelets, and so much joy to offer
her help to others. Please help keep her memory and dreams alive by making a
donation, purchasing one of our handmade pieces of jewelry, a custom memory
rock, or one of our custom memory bears. In doing so, I will have the privilege of
continuing the work we loved. A donation will be made from the proceeds to our
organizations chosen for 2009/2010: Our Community House of Hope and to The
City Of Hope Breast Cancer Research.
I will miss Robin dearly, but I am so grateful for our time together, the wonderful
friends I made because of her, and the new friends I look forward to meeting.
Robin would be so proud of the work we are continuing to do. I have a plaque in
my home that says, "HOPE is not a dream.....but a way of making dreams become
reality".
We can do this together....
My best to you all aways,
Karen Therrien
"Always believe, Always hope." - Robin Josephson
authorization and then schedule a date. She said she wanted to come to take
care of me and wanted to schedule her vacation time. I also remember that
conversation so vividly as she said she hoped her back was feeling better as she
had been having alot of discomfort. I told her I would email her as soon as I had
the date. A few days later on February 2, 2002, I received a surprising call from
Robin. The call she made to me that day was a conversation I will never forget
and a conversation that changed my life forever.
.
Robin told me that she had collapsed from her back pain, and in the diagnostic
tests that followed, it was discovered that Robin had Stage 4 Breast Cancer, with
metastasis to her spine, lungs and liver. She sounded so scared, so lost, and
confused about what to do. Her back needed immediate treatment to remove the
tumor and strengthen the spine with a cement procedure, so that it would not
collapse. She needed radiation treatment on her spine, and she needed to start
chemotherapy for the cancer in her breast, liver and lung. She was too sick to
travel so her treatment and surgery were going to be done overseas. Robin had
been overseas for 17 years, and was lucky to have a wonderful support group of
friends, nurses and doctors to care for her. However, she had been given a
prognosis of 3 - 6 months, even with treatment, which was terrifying. It was from
that moment on that our roles reversed. Robin who had always been the nurturing
sister, the helpful sister, the friend who assisted with everyone's problems,
emotionally or financially, was now fighting for her life and reaching out for help.
February 2, 2002 was the day Robin and I started our journey on the roller coaster
called Breast Cancer.
As Robin started her treatments overseas, I went into my advocate role and
began finding out everything I could about Stage 4 Breast Cancer. Consulting with
a wonderful Doctor at the City of Hope, who spoke with Robin's doctors overseas
about her treatment options and saw her and her doctors overseas thru every
step of her treatment and life emergencies which there were many. This
wonderful man was so endearing to Robin and I cannot think of enough words or
thoughts that could ever express my everlasting thanks to this kind and brilliant
man. We looked forward to the day we could bring her back to the States. This
was very challenging, as Robin did not have health insurance in the United States.
She was covered by the hospital she worked for overseas, so I spent many of my
days looking for affordable insurance, finding out about Medi-cal, SSI, and any
programs that were available to offer her help if we could get her well enough to
come home.
Robin did return home to California in August, 2002. Hardly walking, with no hair,
bloated from steroids and treatments, but the most beautiful sight I ever lied eyes
on was when she got off that plane. From that day forward, Robin and I became
bonded in souls. She treated at the City of Hope for almost 7 years with the most
fantastic team of doctors we could be blessed with. She had so many setbacks
with her spine, reoccurance in her breast, new metastasis in her hips and femur,
seizures, Horners Syndrome, just too many to document. Despite this, my sister
was remarkable. She always pushed herself forward. She always looked at
everyday with hope and unselfishly looked to help her family and friends with their
problems, even in the times when she could barely withstand her own pain and
we were financially crumbling.
During those 7 years, Robin and I learned the importance of true, meaningful,
lifelong friends. The friends that stay with you and support you through all the
trials and tribulations that this disease brings. The importance of community and
how they will rally around your cause to help in ways that we could never believe
or thank enough for. The importance of family, and spending the time you have
been given with them. The importance of hope, tolerance and unconditional love.
Learning to trust each other and know when it was time to reach out to others.
Robin and I lived together until she became too sick for me to take care of alone.
We had a wonderful hospice organization that came a few days a week, which
really helped. However, as Robin's health continued to deteriorate, her fears
of having to go to a nursing home weighed very heavily on her mind. I promised
her I would not put her in a nursing home, and I continued asking, begging and
fund-raising to keep her home with skilled help in the evenings.
We had a very good friend who knew of a "social hospice model" that we
went to visit and were told that Robin could have a room there. It was a house that
was dedicated to providing low income patients with a lovely and peaceful place
to live. Where each "resident' had their own room, with their own things, and a
dining room and chef to prepare meals. This location also had a lovely living room
with TV, piano and enough space to have gatherings for families, parties and
resident get-togethers. In addition, they had a staff composed of the most loving,
caring and patient people, who gave their care 24 hours a day. Doctors and
nurses were not on sight, but they visited through a local hospice organization a
few times a week or as needed. It was truly a place to call home. When Robin had
a seizure and could no longer stay with me, this is were she spent her final
months. I have so much admiration for the staff, that I now consider my friends.
All of my gratitude for them could never seem like enough.
Our friend, Teresa, who organized this for us, had been trying for a couple of years
to open a "model" of that house in our local community, the Conejo Valley. This
was one of Robin's passions, and she repeatedly asked Teresa if she was ready
to have her move in to her house, which would be called, "Our Community House
of Hope". Robin wanted to be the first resident, and was very determined to help
Teresa accomplish her dream. This became one of our promises to each other.
To see this type of care offered not just in our area, but across the country. In
addition, to ask all of her friends and acquaintances to purchase a bracelet from
our website to keep her legacy alive and to fulfill our promise to each other to
continue to stay in the fight to find a cure and help women with breast cancer by
providing them with information and resources that are available to them.
It brought Robin so much pride to make these bracelets, and so much joy to offer
her help to others. Please help keep her memory and dreams alive by making a
donation, purchasing one of our handmade pieces of jewelry, a custom memory
rock, or one of our custom memory bears. In doing so, I will have the privilege of
continuing the work we loved. A donation will be made from the proceeds to our
organizations chosen for 2009/2010: Our Community House of Hope and to The
City Of Hope Breast Cancer Research.
I will miss Robin dearly, but I am so grateful for our time together, the wonderful
friends I made because of her, and the new friends I look forward to meeting.
Robin would be so proud of the work we are continuing to do. I have a plaque in
my home that says, "HOPE is not a dream.....but a way of making dreams become
reality".
We can do this together....
My best to you all aways,
Karen Therrien
"Always believe, Always hope." - Robin Josephson
In late January, 2002, I received a call from from my sister, Robin Josephson, to see
