43
Christmas miracle and support brighten woman's holidays
Photo
Roberta Blankenship, 65, of Columbiana is in remission less than a year after having been diagnosed with a form of lymphoma cancer that also had taken her sister’s life.
By Sean Barron
COLUMBIANA
Roberta Blankenship is happy to have her Christmas tree decorated, but none of her three most-cherished gifts this year will be underneath.
That’s because one of them is a miracle, she will tell you. The others are her new apartment and several people she says helped her transition back into the community after a life-threatening illness.
“I attribute my recovery to prayer,” the 65-year-old retired nurse said, referring to finding herself in remission less than a year after having been diagnosed with a form of lymphoma cancer that also had taken her sister’s life.
Blankenship spoke recently about her illness and progress at her apartment, 225 W. Salem St., which she moved into last week after having spent nearly 10 months as a resident at Parkside Healthcare Center, a long-term care facility in Columbiana.
Blankenship recalled driving home from the library last January and suddenly experiencing an unusual mild pain that began in her finger.
“That day, it went up my arm and ended in my armpit and wouldn’t go away,” Blankenship explained, adding that she initially assumed something might be wrong with her heart or lung. “I drove home and the pain increased, and I said to myself, ‘Why don’t you go to the hospital?’”
Blankenship had no way of knowing that what started as an innocuous pain in her hand would lead to a diagnosis with major life-changing consequences.
“She didn’t want to be a burden to her three sons and didn’t want them to have to care for her,” said Lisa Solley, chief of community relations, wellness, training and human relations for Area Agency on Aging 11 Inc., which runs a long-term care ombudsman program that is one of the services assisting Blankenship. “She gave away her belongings, gave up her apartment and life as she knew it, but she didn’t totally give up on life.”
Blankenship, who worked 30 years as a nurse at Salem Community Hospital, was told she had a tumor between her spleen and pancreas. She was sent to St. Elizabeth Health Center’s Boardman Campus, where tests revealed a malignant tumor, then had three visits to the Cleveland Clinic that included surgery and anesthesia for pain.
It wasn’t long before she began a series of chemotherapy treatments every three weeks, which shrunk the tumor to 20 percent of its original size, Blankenship explained. Last September, while at Parkside, she received the news she had hoped for: One of the doctors informed her that the tumor was gone, she said.
Over the following three months, Blankenship remained at Parkside, where she received weekly blood transfusions to correct her white-blood-cell count.
Her health gradually improved, and last week she was able to move into her new home, where she receives outpatient occupational and physical therapy. In addition, a home health-care aide cleans her apartment, prepares meals and assists with personal care.
Blankenship is convinced that the prayers of hundreds of people also have been vital in her recovery. She also encouraged anyone with a cancer diagnosis to seek those who have been through it and maintain hope.
Blankenship expressed her gratitude toward Ohio’s Home Choice program, which helped her move from the nursing home to her apartment.
Among those she’s thankful to for having made the transition smoother are Amanda Thacker, an AAA licensed social worker; Megan Conzett, a housing case manager; and Kathryn Janecko, a transition coordinator and ombudsman with Home Choice.
They provided Blankenship with an emergency-response device, hired the home-care aide, helped set up her utilities, furniture and other essentials and looked for an apartment for her.
“Her sense of humor is wonderful,” Janecko said about Blankenship. “I’ve gotten to know her well over six months. Working this position, I’ve gained a lot of friends like her.”
Blankenship plans to spend the holidays with her sons and other family members.