Five weeks ago our sister Suzanne's life was turned up side down...…

Suzanne was having terrible stomach pain so she drove to her friends house hoping that her friend would go with her to the emergency room.  Once there she had a CT scan which showed abnormalities in three areas. She was then immediately transported from Fannin hospital in Blue Ridge Georgia to Erlanger Hospital in Tennessee, which is over a two hour drive in an ambulance, scared to death and all by herself.

Both Kathleen and I (sisters) were on a plane and at her side the next morning, because we were all going to face this together, what ever it may be, which they suspected was cancer until proven otherwise and of course it was.

Suzanne has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She was in so much pain because her small intestine was being closed off due to the tumor in the head of the pancreas pushing up against the small intestine.  Food was just sitting in her stomach undigested and not able to make it through her small intestine.  When they biopsied the tumor they also removed 2 liters of food from her stomach as well. So first they were focused on the tumor, but that became secondary.  Suzanne had to have a stent put into the bile duct one day for preparation of  surgery and the next day  another stent was put into her small intestine so that it may start opening up in order to start processing food to gain her nutrition back.

It was only 7 weeks ago she was carrying 50 lbs. of grain over her shoulder for her horses and now she has a hard time just walking up her front steps. She is home right now, I'd like to say resting comfortably but that is not true. She is trying her best to get her nutrition up which entails high calorie foods like milkshakes and adding protein powder to them, boost for vitamins, eggnog,  anything high protein/calorie but nothing bulky that would cause blockage to the stents that were put in.   She has 2-3 weeks before she would have to endure a 7-9 hour major surgery and maybe chemo afterwards. We don't know yet. 

Because Suzanne had lost so much weight and her nutrition was below normal, the surgeon literally told us there was a possibility she would not make it through whipple surgery, let alone the healing process it takes to recover if she did not get her nutrition up.  Pancreatic cancer is silent and when it is diagnosed it is generally stage 4 or more which is what Suzanne has.

Kathleen and I have flown home but we will be flying back this Saturday to be with Suzanne for her surgery on Monday.   We talk 3 times a day to Suzanne, trying to keep her positive, but the roller coaster of emotions is always there.  We are trying to get things in order, everything that goes along with a terminal illness. I don't even like saying those words, because Suzanne is going to beat this, we just know and pray she will, but she is a fighter!!!  We know that and the perfect example of that is that on the night Suzanne came home from the hospital she walked into her home to find her cat Sox, of 18 years, laying lifeless on the floor.  She didn't even have time to take her coat off, she just headed back out the door to the emergency vet clinic.  She called me from the vets crying and all I could think is that here is my sister coming out of the hospital, fighting for her life and now she is at the vets fighting for her cats life...…..it broke my heart. Although Suzanne had a close friend watching the animals while she was in the hospital, we felt that Sox waited for Suzanne to come home so she could say goodbye....and be in her arms when she left this world, and she was, she was with Suzanne.   Suzanne has had a horrific year with loss, being that she lost her 30 year old horse Timmy and she also lost her 13 year old best friend (dog) Bonnie, who never left her side and now Sox.

Although we say Suzanne lived alone, in her mind she didn't because her pets were her children.  She has lived her life taking care of the four legged critters and loves them dearly.   Although she lives in the woods, some how homeless cats find their way to Suzanne's door and she can never turn them away.  She truly is a savior for them, and we are hoping to do the same for Suzanne.

All that being said, the reason we are here on this site is because we need your help, support, and most of all your prayers. Suzanne has no insurance and is self employed and since her illness, everything has come to a hault.  Because Kathleen and I live in different states, we are trying to do the best we can for Suzanne, but being so far away, it's so hard and heart wrenching.   We will be there for her surgery and afterwards, but this is going to be a long recovery.  Please say a prayer for her!!!!!  There is so much involved that we can not possibly tell you everything because we don't know everything until after her surgery has been done.

We want our sister to not have to worry about anything other then beating this disease, getting better and to continue on with the goals we have been striving for over the past 8 years, and that is all three sisters being back in Maine,  with our families, where  we can all be supportive of Suzanne and close to one another, instead of one being in Georgia, another in Texas, and of course  Kathleen already in Maine, our home state. 

The funds we are hoping to receive will be going to help Suzanne's medical expenses, home care,  utilities, and of course help feed her remaining animals. Suzanne is a very proud woman and very independent, so it's hard to ask for help,  but in this case it's not a matter of pride. 


As you can see, every photograph is of Suzanne and her animals. She has rescued so many and has provided care, food & shelter to all of them.  When winter hits in the Blue Ridge mountains, you will find plastic  boxes lined with fleece blankets, cat beds all along her outside porch with approx. 18-20 cats snuggled in their warm and comfy beds. You may have even received e-mails from Suzanne asking you to sign  petitions regarding animal rights and protecting animals from cruelty. She would give you the shirt off her back and not think twice about it. This is who our beautiful sister is......