On April 12, 2016, Kim, our dear friend and teammate, lost her 15 year battle with cancer. Kim was a gentle, selfless and kind soul. Her dry wit and outlook on life brought joy to our team. Kim taught us to face adversity with unshakeable courage and grace. To know her was to love her. Though we miss her deeply, her spirit lives on in our hearts.

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I was the working mother of two young children when I was diagnosed with Stage 2 invasive ductal breast cancer in 2001 at the age of 39. I remember being told repeatedly throughout all the exams and tests that “it is probably just a cyst.” I knew that wasn’t true when I received two phone messages from my family doctor’s office saying, “Please call as soon as possible. We need to talk to you.” I think the nurse practitioner leaving the message was just as anxious! And I can still feel the wooziness that came over me just hearing those messages.

I continued the “normal” life of a working nurse, wife, and mother during chemo, a lumpectomy, and radiation and the subsequent loss of hair. As a labor and delivery nurse at the time, I did not want those women and families to worry about their nurse during their happy time. I endured the torture of “The Squirrel” (my nickname for the hot, scratchy mass of hair fibers on my head) when at work, but that thing became the Flying Squirrel the minute I hit the door of home!

All was well until 2007 when it was discovered that I had fallopian tube cancer which was followed by surgery and chemo again. I did take that year off work to focus on my recovery and am now back working full-time as a clinical nurse educator. The cancer rears its ugly head every couple of years but we knock it back down and continue on. I have always enjoyed exercise and love the water so when I saw a notice in the newspaper for an Indy SurviveOars open house, I overcame my shyness and stepped out of my comfort zone to attend and loved it. I have met so many wonderful people and I encourage any woman to give it a try!

On December 19, 2011, Val lost her courageous battle with multiple myeloma after battling the disease for over a year. Words can never adequately express the impact Val had on our team nor the magnitude of loss we all feel in the Indy SurviveOars family. Val will be missed terribly by all who had the privilege to paddle with her.

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My name is Val. I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Estrogen Receptor Positive Breast Cancer on April 28, 2006 at age 48. Treatment for me consisted of two lumpectomy surgeries and thirty doses of radiation with additional surgery to reduce scar tissue in 2008. Indy SurviveOars was brought to my attention through my work as a surgical nurse. As a wife, mother and grandmother this is important time I take for myself. It’s one of many positive experiences that have come from having had cancer. I’m so lucky to have found this group of wonderful women and looking forward to many more exciting seasons.