Every city has it's hometown hero or person persevering through tough times. Looking back, heroes and individuals battling cancer or health ailments spreads through a diverse range of ages, races, men and women.
A hero can be defined as a girl battling a heart ailment, a soldier making a return home from active service or a married couple battling cancer at the same time while still making time to be the best person they can be.
Waukegan family hit with double
diagnosis of cancer
January 6, 2007
By Jason Arndt
The News-Sun
WAUKEGAN - A belief in God and a
tight-knit family have given a Waukegan couple the strength to battle
a rare cancer the wife has endured, while her husband is in his own
battle with cancer.
Tammy James and husband Gary were both diagnosed
with cancer within a week of each other last September. Tammy, 43,
was told she had myxoid liposarcoma on Sept. 28. Gary, 45, was
diagnosed with prostate cancer three days earlier. Tammy and Gary
have known each other since 1976 when Tammy was in the seventh grade.
They have four children.
Tammy has been upbeat despite the
obstacle the family has faced the last three months.
"Our faith in God (is the reason)
because he is our healer," said Tammy, whose family is a member
of Sign of the Dove Church in Waukegan. "The faith-based
community has been there for us."
The Sign of the Dove community has
rallied around the family, cooking them dinners every night since the
couple has faced the cancer roadblock.
Tammy first saw signs of her cancer in
April 2005 when she and her family arrived home from church.
"When I came home from church, my
son (Gary Jr.) noticed something on the back of my leg," Tammy
said.
Tammy went to see her chiropractor for
a routine visit when the chiropractor suggested she see her general
practitioner for the lump.
The practitioner referred her to an
orthopedic surgeon in Lake Forest where the surgeon suggested she see
a specialist at the University of Illinois-Chicago School of
Medicine.
Tammy also credits the Cancer Treatment
Center of America in Zion for being supportive and being "like a
second family."
She has been to the treatment center
every day for radiation treatment to rid herself of the cancer.
"I am disease-free right now and
have four more weeks left of radiation," Tammy said.
Meanwhile, her husband has begun his
treatment for prostate cancer. But he has been strong enough to
continue working at his U.S. Postal Service job.
"We just fought this thing back
and forth," Tammy said. "Gary is the Energizer Bunny- type
of person. He rarely takes the day off."
Gary has only taken days off to be with
his wife on the day of her surgery to remove the sarcoma and was with
her throughout the initial recovery process.
Due to the recovery process of Tammy's
disease, she was forced to take a leave of absence as a kindergarten
teacher at Shelia Daniels Christian Academy.
The couple also has credited their
children for helping them through their ordeals.
The James' two school-aged children,
13-year-old Chhabria and 11-year-old Majesty, have come to the Zion
treatment center to provide a mode of support for their mother during
her radiation treatments.
"We are a very close-knit family,
my sisters and I talk all the time," said Tammy, whose daughters
attend Jack Benny Middle School in Waukegan.
Her two other children are Gary Jr., an
18-year-old student at the College of Lake County, and 21-year-old
Tahva, a recent graduate of the University of Illinois.
'A leader since he was a boy'
Hospital co-workers fete their American
hero
January 5, 2007
By Jason Arndt
The News-Sun
LAKE FOREST - Lake Forest Hospital
employees treated one of their own like an American hero Thursday
afternoon. On a 14-day leave from his tour of duty in Iraq, Army Sgt.
Mike Kempski of Lake Bluff was surprised with a cake and ice cream
celebration in the hospital cafeteria where he was greeted by former
co-workers.
"He is definitely taken aback. He
has a big grin on his face," said his mother, Cynthia Wells. "He
is really touched by all of this, he really is. I didn't even expect
this to happen for him. It's really nice to see them give him the
reception that they are."
His two-week leave of absence began
Dec. 27. "I am just here to recharge my batteries and finish off
my tour of duty when I return to Iraq Jan. 10," said Kempski, a
1998 Libertyville High graduate who is pursing a double major in
criminal justice and political science.
"He is a future senator in my
mind. "He has the character and is well-liked," Wells said.
"He has been a leader since he was a boy with the Scouts in
Mundelein."
Kempski said he has three classes
remaining to receive his degrees from the Northeasatern University.
The 26-year-old former security officer
at the hospital is in his second tour of duty with the Army. He was
recalled to military service just two months before his eight-year
eligibility expired in August 2005.
"He is one of the best security
officers we got and he has strong character," said Director of
Security Ron Cundiff. "He loves his Bears, too." Kempski
attended the Bears' regular-season finale against the Green Bay
Packers, where he was presented with season tickets for next year,
and a game ball.
When Kempski and his mother walked into
the hospital cafeteria Thursday, they were greeted with flashing
cameras and rounds of applause.
"It is a bit overwhelming right
now," Kempski said. "It touches my heart to see so many
people are here for me."
Wells said the reason he received so
much support from the hospital is because he is "well-liked and
has an excellent personality."
"We were planning on a lunch
sometime this week and he mentioned to me, 'Mom, I am going to be
having lunch with my coworkers Thursday,'" Wells said. "I
respect every decision he makes and I am very proud of him."
Kempski enlisted in the Army following
his graduation from high school and was in active duty for three
years and then took a job as a security officer with the hospital in
2004.
When Kempski was working with the
hospital, he showed support for other troops serving overseas and
decided to send care packages to the troops as a sign of
appreciation.
The hospital continued to send care
packages when Kempski was deployed to Iraq, but the hospital hit a
snag when they could not afford to pay the shipping costs to send the
packages overseas.
A 100-year-old resident of the
hospital's adjoining nursing home pitched in $500 to help ship the
packages overseas.
"This is a big moment for me, I
never met an Army sergeant before," said 100-year-old Margaret
Berg as she wept in tears after she met Kempski. "I always loved
helping people."
Berg has been a resident of the
Westmoreland Nursing Home since last year.
"I never expected to meet
(Kempski), I have lived a fulfilling life and it is great to see what
a man like him has done," Berg said.
For Kempski, hospital personnel have
his name tag waiting for him when he concludes his second tour of
duty.
Kempski did not have to go overseas
during his first tour of duty and spent his basic training in Fort
Benning, Ga.
"He called me at 5 a.m. and said
'Mom turn on the TV' and there were presidents and their mothers on
the channel," Wells said. "He said 'In 20 years, you will
be the one being interviewed on Mother's Day.'"
'She runs around like any other kid'
Three surgeries for Sofie's rare heart
ailment
December 25, 2006
By Jason Arndt
The News-Sun
LINDENHURST - Sofie Esler seems like a
normal 6-year-old girl, having fun with her sisters, playing with
toys and holding onto her blanket.
"She runs around just like
any other kid, but she cannot play any contact sports," said her
father Steve Esler. What people don't know is she has a rare heart
ailment known as hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which has hindered
her ability to be a much more energetic girl.
"She has to be careful of her
activities, she has to be limited to certain activities," said
Sofie's grandmother, Carol. "She is a very outgoing and pleasant
person to be around."
Her father Steve Esler said she leads a
very productive life at school, having some good friends in her life.
Sofie Esler has been able to keep up
with her two sisters: Emma, 9; and Lorelai, 3. But she must be
careful with what she does, said Carol Esler.
Esler under went three open-heart
surgeries in her short life and with rising medical costs, her
father's health insurance premium has nearly reached the maximum
allowed for health care.
Enter Jewel-Osco, where her father
Steve is a dairy manager. Steve Esler's co-workers set up a Shop and
Share fundraising effort at all of the area Jewel-Osco stores to
raise funds for the 6-year-old girl.
The first Shop and Share program at
Jewel-Osco yielded $1,100 to the Esler family to continue raising
funds for her medical care.
Sofie Esler has demonstrated strength
in her crusade against the heart defect, with the majority of
children who suffer from the rare condition lasting just weeks into
birth.
"She does not really have the
left-heart syndrome anymore because the left heart has grown enough,"
Steve Esler said.
The reason for the additional surgeries
is to put the structure of her heart back into place.
"Everything is working like it
should at this point," Steve Esler said
With her regular doctor visits to
Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, she has begun to lag behind
in her classwork.
"She has been able to attend
school, but due to her surgery and doctor schedule, she has been
falling behind," Carol Esler said.
The Esler family needs help because the
6-year-old needs two more surgeries to make it complete.
According to the American Heart
Association, the rare heart condition causes the left side of the
heart to become underdeveloped, causing an irregular blood flow
throughout the body.
The organization stresses there is no
cure for the ailment and the best alternative would be to receive a
heart transplant.
The grocery store chain has held two
Shop and Share programs since October and will be looking to hold
another fund-raising effort the weekend of the Super Bowl or the week
before Easter.
