{"id":3442,"date":"2019-01-16T09:36:31","date_gmt":"2019-01-16T09:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cancerhopenetwork.org\/?p=3442"},"modified":"2023-11-13T14:25:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T19:25:18","slug":"educator-amputee-survivor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/educator-amputee-survivor\/","title":{"rendered":"Educator, amputee, survivor","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

What do you call a middle school special education teacher who\u2019s survived melanoma and is now living her boldest, best life with one leg? Support Volunteer Emily Parker. After two and a half years bouncing between doctors \u2013 from dermatologists to a podiatrist \u2013 the recurring crack on the bottom of her right heel was biopsied. And the results were grimly clear: Emily had melanoma.<\/p>\n

Request a free & confidential cancer support match<\/a><\/h4>\n

\u201cMy doctor was devastated at having missed it,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI\u2019d been going to him for two and a half years and we\u2019d never biopsied it.\u201d Rather than dwell on her missed diagnosis, Emily began to fight. But first, she made the choice to forgive her physician. \u201cI\u2019ve made mistakes too. What value would carrying a grudge bring to me? I was a zebra in a horse pasture. Over the months, we kept running into each other around town. I always spoke to him. I always greeted him. He finally realized that I wasn\u2019t out to get him. I was doing fine.\u201d
\n\"img_9570.jpg\"\u201cDoing fine\u201d was a series of challenges. She had three surgeries to remove the cancer. \u201cWe didn\u2019t get it, didn\u2019t get it.\u201d At that point, Emily \u201cdidn\u2019t have much of a heel left,\u201d so she underwent an extensive reconstructive surgery. Soon after, testing revealed the satellite cells of spreading cancer and she was meeting with a specialist at Oregon Health & Science University.<\/p>\n

A realistic look at the possibility of additional surgeries and a desire to keep her mobility led Emily to choose chemotherapy and amputation in January of 2010. It\u2019s a decision she doesn\u2019t regret.
\n\"img_9683\"A lifelong educator, Emily was soon back in her classroom, rocking her prosthetic leg. Thanks to a call from her principal, an interview, complete with photos, soon landed Emily on the front page of the local paper. It was the beginning of her latest version of helping: demonstrating to the world that cancer and amputation were a part of her story \u2013 not the entire thing. She started hearing from people in the community who were inspired by her bravery. That inspiration wasn\u2019t limited to cancer patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cA woman, whose name I don\u2019t know, contacted me to say thank you,\u201d Emily recalls. \u201cShe said \u2018Thank you for being so bold in how you presented this to your students. I have false teeth and I\u2019ve been too embarrassed to let my grandchildren know. Now, I don\u2019t mind showing them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talk to Emily for more than five minutes and you\u2019ll recognize that she\u2019s is a non-stop ball of energy, exceptionally committed to helping others. Which meant cancer was a learning experience as she had to accept her limitations. And help. Like so many patients learning to face their new normal, letting others pitch in was a hard-won lesson. \u201cIt\u2019s a process of learning not to overdo. Not saying \u2018I\u2019m fine, I can do this\u2019 when you need help.\u201d
\nLike the teacher she is, Emily shares her own recollections to drive the lesson home when talking with patients. \u201cI remember one time, I didn\u2019t have my leg yet and I crawled up the stairs and was in my daughter\u2019s room, trying to change the sheets or something equally important,\u201d she recalls. \u00a0\u201cKnowing it\u2019s ok to sit still is the hardest part. Still. I remind the women I\u2019m mentoring that it isn\u2019t all about having to prove ourselves or make ourselves productive. It\u2019s ok to ignore the old adage of \u2018busy hands are happy hands.\u2019 It\u2019s ok not to have busy hands all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ehopeDuring her treatment, Emily was blessed to be surrounded by a community of care. \u201cSo many people reached out to me,\u201d she recalls. \u201cMy 87-year old aunt and my cousin drove over the mountain in a snowstorm to be with me. They made all these meals to put in the freezer. My mother came, my husband and my daughter were amazing. My sister, and her quiet strength, was extremely helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just family who stepped up to show their concern. \u201cPeople would drop by with meals, with cards. A woman I\u2019d worked with, who I didn\u2019t know all that well, who\u2019d moved to another school and was pregnant with her third child \u2013 stopped by with food.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ehopeShe recognizes how fortunate she was and is paying that care forward, first as a teacher, then in her work with amputees and today, as a CHN Support Volunteer since 2012. \u201cWhen I was in treatment, I wasn\u2019t communicating with other cancer patients. I was bathed with positive encouragement in general, but there wasn\u2019t something like CHN for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

A woman of strong faith, Emily has spent a lifetime bolstering the people around her, especially to people who don\u2019t have a strong support system. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful for the many things in my life, for the support I have. Knowing I can reach out is one of those things that keeps me going. It\u2019s kind of the way I\u2019m wired,\u201d she muses. \u201cThere\u2019s no value to me just sitting here in my own little life. And I\u2019m not just sharing. I\u2019ve learned so much from the people I talk with. I get a new perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow our facebook page for more stories of hope.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Middle school special education teacher Emily Parker shares lessons and inspiration from her fight with melanoma. <\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":23,"featured_media":8646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[288,45,213,119,289],"post_folder":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet Emily -melanoma survivor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Middle school special education teacher Emily Parker shares lessons and inspiration from her fight with melanoma.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/educator-amputee-survivor\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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