Gilda's Club Royal Oak: A Short Story
Barely eleven months after my husband and I married our world collapsed around us. Forever etched in my mine is what the doctor revealed, “Much to our surprise, it was cancer.” Seven words with the power to change our lives forever.
Two years prior, my Mom died from ovarian cancer. At the time of my diagnosis, I did not know a single person living who had experienced cancer; my Mom, my Mom’s best friend, my Grandpa Ed, our neighbor across the street, my best friend’s mom, all gone. Consequently, I was unsure what this meant for my survival, if that was even possible.
Amid all the turbulence, my husband was my rock, supporting me at every step. He attended every appointment, researched so I could reach informed decisions, and anticipated my …show more content…
every need. I could not have done it without him.
I was working full time and attending law school through all of this. When I had to take time off for surgeries, several of my classmates came to my home to help me with my studies. Thanks to them, I was able to finish law school on time, and even win The State Bar Negligence Council and Faculty Awards.
Along the way, I attended multiple support groups to discover one where I felt I belonged.
Although we all were coping with breast cancer, the other women had children my age and were in a different stage of life with different worries. On my mind was being a newlywed and thinking of starting a family. I still felt lost.
One day at a particular meeting, a group leader asked me, “Would you be interested in a group for young survivors?” Under development at Gilda’s Club Royal Oak is a new breast cancer survivor group specifically for younger women. Once that group began, I attended every month, only missing a handful of meetings over the next five plus years. In the beginning, I needed support to understand how others managed, so I, too, could learn how to cope with my new life. While friendships blossomed, we exchanged information, ideas, laughter, hugs, and tears.
Eventually, I metamorphosed into a valuable resource for newly diagnosed women. In those latter years, I gained more from the meetings than I did in the beginning of my journey. Since I remembered how frightened and isolated I felt at diagnosis, I grasped their worries and fears while providing these women the support they desperately
sought.
In 2008 a handful of people joined to create a Gilda’s Club on the East side of metro Detroit and I undertook to be the Treasurer. We petitioned Gilda’s corporate office in New York to establish a new club location in St. Clair Shores. During the year we collaborated with Gilda’s Club, they experienced tremendous leadership upheaval and went through four executive directors. Consequently, with each modification, we started the process over from the beginning. The last one told us they did not support our efforts to open a Gilda’s Club.
Determined to offer cancer support services on the East side, we formed our own charitable organization, developed our mission statement: to provide a safe harbor to support, educate, and empower those touched by cancer, and selected a date to open our doors. Now, the hard work was about to begin.
On May 1, 2011 in a cramped, rented space, our dream became reality when The Lakehouse opened its doors. Today The Lakehouse is growing and thriving in a former elementary school, with over 5,000 square feet available to run programs, education, and meetings. During the last two years, member visits doubled and it is making a vast difference in people’s lives.
http://milakehouse.org
I am available to talk with anyone who may be going through this terrible illness.
Two years prior, my Mom died from ovarian cancer. At the time of my diagnosis, I did not know a single person living who had experienced cancer; my Mom, my Mom’s best friend, my Grandpa Ed, our neighbor across the street, my best friend’s mom, all gone. Consequently, I was unsure what this meant for my survival, if that was even possible.
Amid all the turbulence, my husband was my rock, supporting me at every step. He attended every appointment, researched so I could reach informed decisions, and anticipated my …show more content…
every need. I could not have done it without him.
I was working full time and attending law school through all of this. When I had to take time off for surgeries, several of my classmates came to my home to help me with my studies. Thanks to them, I was able to finish law school on time, and even win The State Bar Negligence Council and Faculty Awards.
Along the way, I attended multiple support groups to discover one where I felt I belonged.
Although we all were coping with breast cancer, the other women had children my age and were in a different stage of life with different worries. On my mind was being a newlywed and thinking of starting a family. I still felt lost.
One day at a particular meeting, a group leader asked me, “Would you be interested in a group for young survivors?” Under development at Gilda’s Club Royal Oak is a new breast cancer survivor group specifically for younger women. Once that group began, I attended every month, only missing a handful of meetings over the next five plus years. In the beginning, I needed support to understand how others managed, so I, too, could learn how to cope with my new life. While friendships blossomed, we exchanged information, ideas, laughter, hugs, and tears.
Eventually, I metamorphosed into a valuable resource for newly diagnosed women. In those latter years, I gained more from the meetings than I did in the beginning of my journey. Since I remembered how frightened and isolated I felt at diagnosis, I grasped their worries and fears while providing these women the support they desperately
sought.
In 2008 a handful of people joined to create a Gilda’s Club on the East side of metro Detroit and I undertook to be the Treasurer. We petitioned Gilda’s corporate office in New York to establish a new club location in St. Clair Shores. During the year we collaborated with Gilda’s Club, they experienced tremendous leadership upheaval and went through four executive directors. Consequently, with each modification, we started the process over from the beginning. The last one told us they did not support our efforts to open a Gilda’s Club.
Determined to offer cancer support services on the East side, we formed our own charitable organization, developed our mission statement: to provide a safe harbor to support, educate, and empower those touched by cancer, and selected a date to open our doors. Now, the hard work was about to begin.
On May 1, 2011 in a cramped, rented space, our dream became reality when The Lakehouse opened its doors. Today The Lakehouse is growing and thriving in a former elementary school, with over 5,000 square feet available to run programs, education, and meetings. During the last two years, member visits doubled and it is making a vast difference in people’s lives.
http://milakehouse.org
I am available to talk with anyone who may be going through this terrible illness.