This Clown Needs Our Help
Donation protected
Robin Zegge has lived in Brattleboro all her life and is a familiar face to many people. Maybe you know her as a paraprofessional in our local schools, or as an Activity Director for the elderly? Perhaps you were in one of her classes when she taught comedy or improvisation at New England Youth Theater? Surely you've seen her as pictured above; clowning around during the Heifer Parade.
I met her in seventh grade, and even after all these years
you’ve no idea how hard it is to get Robin to tell me what she needs. These are not the things our favorite clown likes to talk about. Robin is one of the most upbeat folks I know. Her sense of humor shows in everything that she does, and as life has gotten more challenging and her health has continued to fail, she has quietly dug in and not asked for anything. I admire her for this "can do" attitude, and I know you do too, but everybody needs help now and again, and Robin needs ours now.
A few days ago, after pressing the issue, she finally said, “One of the side effects of the chemo is causing my fillings to come out and my teeth to break up. The oral surgeon won’t do anything without one thousand dollars in hand the day of the procedure.”
That's just the beginning. There is a large probability that she'll lose most of her teeth. The bill is expected to be at least $9,000.
The chemo and radiation have also made her saliva glands stop working, making every moment of every day even more uncomfortable.
Due to her ill health Robin is on disability, and has very little energy. Not one to ask for help, she lives alone and takes care of everything herself.
Her response when I ask her how’s she’s coped with cancer these last two years?
“I have a few issues, but they will all pass eventually.”
She said that with a big smile on her face.
Our favorite clown fell on the ice back in March of 2014 and was out of work and on crutches for two and a half months. The crutch gave her an abscess in her left breast which caused the tissue to react with inflammation and pain. Fever and fatigue required antibiotics for eight months with no clear response to the infection. Something was very wrong, but no one had an answer. Meanwhile Robin had a hard time supporting herself with ongoing illness using up her limited savings.
After many Ultra Sounds, MRI’s and biopsies, time went by with no diagnosis but plenty more ill health. Robin experienced more high fevers, with one over 104 degrees accompanied by sepsis and rigors, which earned her an ambulance ride to the hospital. After a few days there, she transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center to have the abscess, which was now bigger than a baseball, removed from her chest. During the surgery, the doctors discovered the it was full of cancer and stopped to reschedule a more involved surgery to remove it. It is an aggressive cancer, called Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, a triple negative type of cancer. It needed to be removed as soon as possible, and chemotherapy and radiation begun.
Typically, she joked her way through the many procedures, entertaining the doctors and nurses. She’s never lost her sense of humor as the quality of her life has declined over a period of two years and continues to do so.
Meanwhile, the medical bills not covered by insurance are beyond counting, the fourteen medications she takes need co payments, and her teeth need to come out. Following that, she needs a dental appliance made. Robin will soon have much needed shoulder surgery while she continues dealing with the after effects of chemo and radiation which include fatigue, neuropathy in her hands and feet, a condition called, "chemo brain", which affects her ability to remember and process information, and a stutter when she speaks. This not only zaps her energy but empties her tiny wallet as well.
I’ve known Robin for 46 years and never seen her ask for anything of anybody other than a smile - and even then if you didn’t have one, she’d find a way to give it to you.
She needs our help. Could we pay off some of her medical bills and lift some of her financial burdens before her next surgery?
Robin recently said to me, “I have faith in the power of healing through treatment, but I can’t live without humor.”
Let’s give her something big to laugh and smile about.
Fran Lynggaard Hansen
I met her in seventh grade, and even after all these years
you’ve no idea how hard it is to get Robin to tell me what she needs. These are not the things our favorite clown likes to talk about. Robin is one of the most upbeat folks I know. Her sense of humor shows in everything that she does, and as life has gotten more challenging and her health has continued to fail, she has quietly dug in and not asked for anything. I admire her for this "can do" attitude, and I know you do too, but everybody needs help now and again, and Robin needs ours now.
A few days ago, after pressing the issue, she finally said, “One of the side effects of the chemo is causing my fillings to come out and my teeth to break up. The oral surgeon won’t do anything without one thousand dollars in hand the day of the procedure.”
That's just the beginning. There is a large probability that she'll lose most of her teeth. The bill is expected to be at least $9,000.
The chemo and radiation have also made her saliva glands stop working, making every moment of every day even more uncomfortable.
Due to her ill health Robin is on disability, and has very little energy. Not one to ask for help, she lives alone and takes care of everything herself.
Her response when I ask her how’s she’s coped with cancer these last two years?
“I have a few issues, but they will all pass eventually.”
She said that with a big smile on her face.
Our favorite clown fell on the ice back in March of 2014 and was out of work and on crutches for two and a half months. The crutch gave her an abscess in her left breast which caused the tissue to react with inflammation and pain. Fever and fatigue required antibiotics for eight months with no clear response to the infection. Something was very wrong, but no one had an answer. Meanwhile Robin had a hard time supporting herself with ongoing illness using up her limited savings.
After many Ultra Sounds, MRI’s and biopsies, time went by with no diagnosis but plenty more ill health. Robin experienced more high fevers, with one over 104 degrees accompanied by sepsis and rigors, which earned her an ambulance ride to the hospital. After a few days there, she transferred to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center to have the abscess, which was now bigger than a baseball, removed from her chest. During the surgery, the doctors discovered the it was full of cancer and stopped to reschedule a more involved surgery to remove it. It is an aggressive cancer, called Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, a triple negative type of cancer. It needed to be removed as soon as possible, and chemotherapy and radiation begun.
Typically, she joked her way through the many procedures, entertaining the doctors and nurses. She’s never lost her sense of humor as the quality of her life has declined over a period of two years and continues to do so.
Meanwhile, the medical bills not covered by insurance are beyond counting, the fourteen medications she takes need co payments, and her teeth need to come out. Following that, she needs a dental appliance made. Robin will soon have much needed shoulder surgery while she continues dealing with the after effects of chemo and radiation which include fatigue, neuropathy in her hands and feet, a condition called, "chemo brain", which affects her ability to remember and process information, and a stutter when she speaks. This not only zaps her energy but empties her tiny wallet as well.
I’ve known Robin for 46 years and never seen her ask for anything of anybody other than a smile - and even then if you didn’t have one, she’d find a way to give it to you.
She needs our help. Could we pay off some of her medical bills and lift some of her financial burdens before her next surgery?
Robin recently said to me, “I have faith in the power of healing through treatment, but I can’t live without humor.”
Let’s give her something big to laugh and smile about.
Fran Lynggaard Hansen
Organizer and beneficiary
Fran Lynggaard Hansen
Organizer
Brattleboro, VT
Robin Zegge
Beneficiary
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