Our dear friend Dawn

This gofundme has been started by the friends of Dawn Roeth. You see, Dawn would never ever start something like this for herself. In fact, she is probably turning bright red and shaking her head as she reads this... that is because Dawn is a giver, not a taker. She does not like pity and does not want to be the recipient of charity, but we all know that this is not what this is about. Dawn is the loving mother of multiple children; her heart holds space for the many other children she has helped raise through the foster system. She has given her love, time and home to so many children that needed her (again- Dawn is a GIVER). Recently she was hit with a hard diagnosis: ovarian cancer; shortly after her hysterectomy (which forced her off work for several weeks) she began chemo therapy. Currently our warrior continues to come to work while dealing with the debilitating side effects of chemo and, in spite of all this, she continues to smile, hug, and comfort all of us who are trying to be strong for her. As flu season approaches, we are wanting to help raise some funds to keep Dawn out of the hospital and away from germs. Since she has exhausted all her PTO we thought this would be a great way to help... instead of focusing on her diagnosis, we want to focus on 10 things we love about this incredible woman, so here they are:

1. She knows every classic show tune by heart. 
2. Her sense of humor. She is basically one of the funniest people anyone has ever met. 
3. She is an amazing nurse. She is always going out of her way to help her patients and coworkers. 
4. She is the creator of “The Dawn”. The most delicious variation of a grilled cheese sandwich which has spread like wildfire on our unit. 
5. Her devotion to her family. She works full time to support their desire to educate their children in the home. They even use holidays as an opportunity to teach their children some history! For example, the night before Thanksgiving they bake Plymouth Rock cookies (which she has described as grey and not completely mouth watering from a visual perspective). Then they do a sleep over in the living room to educate their kids about the boat ride the pilgrims embarked on. 
6. Her ability to stay positive. It has been a quality that has stood out about her even before her diagnosis. 
7. She always puts everyone’s feelings before her own. When sharing her story, her first instinct was to support her friends as they reacted to her news. 
8. She is SMART. Anyone who has a question goes to Dawn for advice whether it be professional or personal. 
9. She is a fantastic mother. 
10. She is humble. Which is why we are stopping at 10 things we love about her because the list could go on forever and it would embarrass her to no end. 

Nurses are not salary employees. If we don’t work, we don’t get paid. Again, Dawn has, by necessity, used all of her paid time off for her treatment. Any donation, large or small, would have a large impact on her family.