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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-11-28, Page 17V eisure, 10 eatures and entertainment Serving over 24,000 homes in Listowel, Wingham, Mount Forest, Milverton, Ariss, Arthur, Drayton, Harriston, Moorefield, Palmerston, Bloomingdale, Breslau, Conestoga, Elmira, Heidelberg, Linwood, Maryhill, St. Clements, St. Jacobs, Wallenstein, Wellesley and West Montrose. Crossroads, Wednesday, November 28, 1984. The Maier family believes that miracles still do happen by Margaret Arbuckle Joy Maier calls it a miracle. Over the past year this Fordwich- area lady has gone from someone so close to dying that she was thankful for every extra minute, to a woman who gradually has become able once again to handle a household and four children. Her story is one of faith, deter- mination and love. Mrs. 'Maier at- tributes her astounding remission from cancer to a number of factors, not the least of which is the dedicated care she received from Town and Country Homemaker Cathy Fitch and Linda Knight of Community Nursing Ser- vices. A former obstetrical nurse at the Wingham hospital, Mrs. Maier said she and her husband Phil do not know what they would have done throughout her long bouts of illness, if it were not for the services of the two agencies. CANCER 18 DISCOVERED In July of 1980 Mrs. Maier had her left breast removed due to cancer, which also was in her left arm. As if that were not enough, she was three months pregnant at the time and had three young children at home. She refused to have an abortion to undergo chemotherapy because of her . principles as a Christian and as a nurse, but she did have 12 radiation treat- ments at London, When her treatments were over and Mrs. Maier returned home, she found she was too weak from the ordeal to look after the house and children, so she and her husband hired homemaking services. After spending the final two months of her pregnancy in hospital, Mrs. Maier gave birth to her son John in December of 1980. She returned home from hospital and although she had a homemaker for a while, gradually she was able to manage on her own. Mrs. Maier enjoyed reasonably good health throughout 1981 and '82. However in September of last year it was found that the cancer had spread to her left chest wall, both legs, her pelvis and her shoulder. The London doctors also removed her ovaries at the same time' since they felt the estrogen ( a female hormone) they were producing was causing her cancer. . " I, was in terrible shape;" said Mrs. Maier. She was sent back -to the Wingham hospital, but decided is she were going to die she wanted to die at home. So she came home Last October and Mrs. Fitch started •as her homemaker. Although Mrs. Maier was preparing herself .and her family for her death, somehow she managed to live past Christmas and into the new year. ANOTHER SETBACK In January of this year, a chimney fire filled the Maier home with smoke. Even after the smoke had cleared, Mrs. Maier found herself short of breath and Mrs.'Fitch took her.to the hospital. What doctors first thought to be pneumonia turned out to be lung can- cer. They told Mrs. Maier the cancer had spread to 10 different spots in her body and, quite frankly, her chances of survival were very slim. She started chemotherapy treat- ments immediately, spending every Friday in London getting intravenous treatments and the rest of the week at home taking cancer drugs orally. It was during this very low point jn„ her life th,.t Mrs. Maier and her family came to depend upon, and grew to love, Mrs. Fitch and Mrs. Knight. People come first at the Maier home and Mrs. Fitch was fully understanding as she has a child of her own. In ad- dition to feeding the children nutritious meals, Mrs. Fitch also did things "above and beyond the call of duty" like playing with the youngsters out- doors and even disciplining them, something their own mother was too ill to do. Mrs. Fitch spent 10 hours per day, five days a week at the Maier home. Mr. and Mrs. Maier spent the weekends and evenings alone with the children, although Mrs. Maier joked her husband often was very happy to see Mrs. Filch on Monday mornings. Once the children were off to school, Mrs. Fitch did the cleaning, the washing or whatever else had to be done around the house. The chemotherapy treatments made Mrs. Maier very ill and she suffered excruciaft pain. Mrs. Knight and the nurses from her agency started last January .at the Maier home and ad- ministered pain -killing and cancer drugs. Watching Mrs. Maier suffer from the chemotherapy treatments and the pain of her cancer affected Mrs. Knight deeply, but she said never in her years of nursing has she seen a patient with such a will to live in spite.of the ob- stacles. The two women, Mrs. Fitch and Mrs. Knight, worked together to make Mrs. Maier as comfortable as possible. Through Mrs. Knight, Mrs. Fitch learned how and when to give Mrs. Maier her medication and they con- ferred daily on the case. Mrs. Fitch also helped Mrs. Maier bathe, changed her bed regularly, prepared her special, all -natural food meals and gave her her daily high doses of vitamins. Most importantly, though, Mrs. Fitch ministered to Mrs. Maier's spiritual and devotional needs. A devout Christian, Mrs. Maier said she would not have been comfortable with anyone in her home who did not have the same convictions and Mrs. Fitch has those convictions. The homemaker often read the Bible to Mrs. Maier, listened to Christian records with her and helped Mrs. Maier throughthe mood swings produced by the drugs. Mrs. Fitch always was cheerful'and doggedly determined that Mrs. Maier never would give up the fight. She did fight on too. Last April Mrs. Maier attended the baptism of her two eldest children at the Wingham Bible Chapel and in June her prayers were answered when she attended her eldest son's Grade 8 banquet. By that time her prognosis was so dim that her husband took the summer off work to share as many happy times as possible with his family and help his wife through what the experts predicted would be her last summer. HUSBAND'S VIEW Over the past year Mr. Maier and his children were faced with the possibility of losing a wife and a mother, but he said he feels the hard times have developed their character and faith in God. He fully supported his wife's wish to be at home with the children rather than in hospital because he wanted her to feel the love of her family, something the Maiers believe is the best medicine of all. There were times when Mr. Maier said he wanted to scream out in frustration because life seemed so bleak, but his wife's unswerving faith and determination made him go on- ward. It was comforting to him to know that Mrs.. Knight and Mrs. Fitch were caring for his wife while he was at work and he appreciates their emotional support during the time Mrs. Maier was so ill. The community, church and school were very supportive as well, which has confirmed Mr. Maier's belief in the strong bond' that country people feel for • one another. However it is Mr. Maier's faith in God which has been reaffirmed most strongly. Call it providence, call it "divine intervention", every time the Maiers were at their lowest ebb, some Christian person would come along to help the family. An example of this intervention oc- curred just after John was_born four years ago. Mr. Maier said his wife did not want the baby after it was born, perhaps because she did not want to form a bond that might be shattered, but it upset her husband a great deal. As Mr. Maier left the recovery room he met three friends from home who had been visiting elsewhere in the hospital and said they suddenly felt a strong compulsion to come up and visit Mrs. Maier. What happened between Mrs. Maier and her three guests that day her husband does not know, but the next time he saw his wife she was happy and had the new baby with her. There have been several other in- stances of this sort of thing happening in their lives, said Mr. Maier. All in all, it has helped to uphold the family's convictions and make them realize another power is guiding them. GETTING STRONGER At the suggestion of the doctors and his, co-workers, Mr. Maier took the summer off from his job in Kitchener to be with his wife and family. But something happened. Instead of becoming sicker, Mrs. Maier grew constantly stronger. The homemaker started coming less and less often until this. Thanksgiving when the two women said a tearful farewell. Mrs. Knight made her last visit to the Maier home on Oct. 25. , In spite of the sadness at losing Mrs. Fitch and Mrs. Knight, the Maier family celebrated its happiest Thanks- giving ever. A recent checkup at London had showed Mrs. Maier's cancer was gone and she was declared to be in remission. Today Mrs. Maier says she feels like she's "16 again". She grows stronger day by day and says her goals in life now are to be submissive to the Lord, do His will and be the best wife and mother possible. She also intends to go back to nursing some day and currently is enrolled in a course at 'the Listowel hospital in on- cology or cancer nursing, the field she hopes to enter when she does go back to work. Mrs. Maier attributes her recovery to many factors: the prayers of friends, the love and support of family, of which Mrs. Fitch and Mrs. Knight now are considered part, the chemotherapy treatments and the healthy living style using natural foods and vitamins she now has adopted. Mrs. Fitch and Mrs. Knight both are delighted at Mrs. Maier's recovery and now consider her a close friend. As Mrs. Knight puts it, they may have given Mrs. Maier a lot, but she has taught them much more in return, about determination., about faith and about courage. TWO AGENCIES The ,. nursing services and homemakers agencies both are covered by the Huron County Home Care Program. Although most of the homemakers' clients are elderly, it often helps young mothers, the handicapped 'd chronically -ill persons Mrs. Community Nursing Services has been offering specialized nursing care since January of this year. Its six registered nurses provide an around- the-clock nursing service to county residents. MIRACLE BOY—Although Jby Maier considers all her children miracles, John is extra special to her because she was pregnant with him when she first learned she had cancer. Today John is a lively four-year old boy and his mother's cancer is in .remission. Jean Young of the Town and Country Homemakers' Agency is delighted with Mrs. Maier's miraculous recovery. THE MAIER FAMILY—has a lot to be thankful foi now that Joy Maier's cancer is in remission and recently they celebrated with Town and Country Homemaker Cathy Fitch and Linda Knight of Community Nursing Services. The family memebers and guests are: back, Cathy and Charlie Maier; front, Mrs. Fitch, Phil Maier with Julia, Joy Maier with John and Mrs. Knight.