tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48806003501638506852024-03-14T14:48:59.704-04:00WELCOME TO BALDIE'S BLOGREAL WOMEN ARE BALDHillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.comBlogger1475125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-17540030700094870792012-08-19T22:29:00.002-04:002012-08-19T22:29:23.962-04:00Update from Vic...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Hi Too All!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">Today is August 16. 30 years ago Heather and Hillary were born. It seems like a long time ago but it also seems like it was way to short. Hillary has been gone now for a little more than 6 months but today was particularly hard. How many times was she asked her Birthday? Every time in the hospital when it came time to make sure what meds were being given or for admission or for whatever She always would say 8-16-82. <br /> Since then my mom has passed away. I think she was broken hearted that she outlived her grand-daughter. She was a remarkable woman that Hillary and all of us admired. When I was down my mom would always say the right things and then pray hard for me. Most often to ST Jude --Saint of the impossible. Positive attitude and many prayers got us a long way.<br /> We also lost a good friend and neighbor in June. The day after Nancy's birthday. Tony Zutter had lung cancer. He only had it a short time and the lord took him quickly. He is buried just a short distance from Hillary.<br /><br /> Hillary's grave stone is now in. Jon had a chip embedded in the granite that you can scan and it brings you to Hillary's Blog. Jon had been after me for a while to write something so that the Blog would have some fresh material. This one hasn't started off so positive so I have to be much more upbeat.<br /><br /> Xander is ready to start 4th grade in just 10 days. The summer has gone by quickly. Camping, Soccer and Basketball camps, a trip to Yankee Stadium to watch the Red Sox beat the Yankees were all high lites. TJ an friend of Jon's has been a great help. He has been ill and can;t work right now so he has been staying with Jon and xander and keeping Xander very busy during the day while Jon tries to to go to work. Jon is hoping to finish his mechanical engineering degree now. He had put that on hold to spend time with Hillary.<br /><br /> Happy birthday Heather. Heather is Pregnant. She found out that is going to be another boy. She was hoping for a girl and would have Named her Hillary. Allen is currently in Switzerland as a project manager for Johnson and Johnson. He is only there for a few days. Heather has her last class this weekend for her masters degree in special education. She always told me I was special and now she can teach me!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Patrick and Grace are in there new house. Looks great. Still lots of things to do to get it finished but I think I still need to do a lot after 23 years. All seems good as they are higher up on the hill behind our house and can look down on us.<br /><br /> Nancy has had a tough day today. We went to the movies to try to keep our minds off the day. Xander was with us. He wanted to see " Timothy Greene" I was good till the end when he said something about living just a short time. Not a dry tear in the house! This week Nancy found out she has to have a spot removed. It has the c--- word. Usually Skin Cancer is not a big worry but-- that C word scares us to death-- Bad line. She also found out why she is having so much back pain. The MRI shows an extra Vertebrae. Yes she is an X-man or X woman in this case. We always knew she had hidden power that you would never know. She Bear has a lot of backbone.<br /><br /> Me I am working a lot. Keeping very busy has kept my heart beating. Still staying very positive. Last year Hillary made 88 trips to Dartmouth plus many other places. I think I took her to about half of them. That gives me way too much time, so like Hillary I filled it with more stuff. <br /><br /> Now maybe I can sleep. Got lots of stuff off my chest and sent it on to you. Thank God we have had the best support from all our family and friends. With out you all I am not sure I would have been strong enough. I thank you all for being my care giver.<br /><br /> Vic Nancy, Patrick and Grace, Heather ,Allen, Pierce, Preston and ?, Jon and Xander and especially our heavenly Angel Hillary</span></div>
Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-33941218340260448882012-08-16T08:45:00.001-04:002012-08-16T08:46:47.775-04:00Happy Birthday!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy Birthday to Hillary and her beautiful twin
Heather!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the words of Brian… “TWINS
RULE!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As Jon has said in the previous post, it has been six
months. I still can't believe it has been six months. Where does the time go? I can still see her bright smile and her laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were a bunch of us that
were together last week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baldies Blog
was brought up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People have been
wondering how the family and friends have been doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well….like always, there are good days and
bad days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I can't speak for everyone else, but </span>I can tell you that the 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
of each month is a difficult day all around for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The good days are coming more often, but a day does not go by where I
don’t hope that my phone is going to go off with a text or cheery phone call
from Hill is going to be there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still
have my texts from February 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>, two days before she passed away, on
my phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there they will stay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A lot has gone on in the last six months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if you asked me what happened from
February to April (or early May) I couldn’t really tell you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was really a blur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I honestly can’t remember much that
happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do know that with the help
of the awesome support system that Hillary put into place along her journey
guided me, and others, through the last 6 months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just kind of went through the motions to
try and get some sense of normalcy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Somewhere in there the White Tigers and White Tigers Too started
our Relay for Life Journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By June we
had 32 team members, earned about $7,000, earned Gold Team status, and even got
Barry to wear a dress (he would do anything for Hillary!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our team won 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup> place for our
Apples to Apple booth (the theme was board games).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But more importantly our team earned 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup>
place for cancer messaging for the work done with Patients as Partners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the one I know Hill would be proud
of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That tells me right there that we
are continuing her fight and making her voice louder!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time…Relay was hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hillary loved Relay for Life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loved making people aware of every aspect
to fighting the “cancer meanie.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
hard to be there without her (even though I know she really was there)!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Along the Relay for Life journey we had MANY fundraisers
that many of you helped to make successful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We made bracelets, ordered bracelets (that are still available too!),
had 2 Pizza Hut events, had a Black and White party, and sold some pretty
awesome t-shirts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am probably missing
some, but it’s late and I am tired. </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to say that all of that was fun,
emotional, and rewarding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be honest
this was the way I grieved the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
threw myself into spreading the word and fighting the fight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to say…now that it is over I am
finding other things to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It does
leave more time to think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which is
good….I keep telling myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Along with Relay for Life, there is Patients as
Partners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hillary’s amazing twin sister
as completely ran with the much needed non-profit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has met with several doctors, hospitals,
legislators, and the list goes on and on!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She headed up the first big fundraiser with Pink Pint Night in
Claremont.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a HUGE success and I
can’t wait for next year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also can’t
wait to help Heather make Patients as Partners become a reality!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is the plug….check out the website </span><a href="http://www.patientsaspartners.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">www.patientsaspartners.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Along with all of these happenings has come a lot of
reflection on life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hillary has helped
me, and others, in more ways that she probably knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that many people feel the same way,
and I have heard many people say this to me over the last 6 months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“She was an amazing person” has been said to
me more times than I can count.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
want that to lose meaning because it has been said so much, but it is
true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel like it is a little bit of
an understatement, but totally true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am just glad that I was able to tell her how much I appreciated her and how
proud I am to be her friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thank her
everyday for what she has given me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
has given me strength I didn’t know I had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She has given me lifelong friends that I met through her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We now share a special bond that nothing
could replace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has taught me that
life is short, and I should live it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She taught me that I need to use my voice and stand up for what I
believe in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has given me a second
family that I am truly blessed to be a part of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She has given me two pea pods that I am not sure I would have gotten
through this without.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really feel that
she has taken care of me and is continuing to take care of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The other night Michelle and I went to have girl time with
Hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know she was there on her “bed”
having girl time with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We always had
girl time on her bed….man I miss that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was good to be there with her the other night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michelle and I said people would think we
were weird to go hang out with Hill at the cemetery at 10:00 at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, if you knew Hill she would have done
the same thing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I keep telling people that there is no
rule book telling you how you HAVE to grieve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is no “right” way to deal with grief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think people should do what make them feel
good (as long as it is healthy and safe).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So that is exactly what we were doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We needed to have girl time with Hill….so we did!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today….to celebrate her 30<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> birthday we will
go again. We will celebrate her birthday with her. We will be bringing her a tiara with 30 on it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I am pretty sure there will be cupcakes
involved!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What birthday celebration
doesn’t have cake!?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p>Until next time....</o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p>Brynn</o:p></span></div>
</div>
Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-22929199952613499662012-08-06T22:26:00.002-04:002012-08-06T22:26:18.279-04:00It's Been Six Months<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Life has been crazy these last six months. So much has happened. Something important is finally in place. Here are the pictures of Hillary's headstone.<div>
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The backside of the stone. Notice it makes reference to Baldie's Blog. The QR barcode reader is under the angel. It links right to this site. Over a year ago I told Hillary these would be the future and she needed to write about these and how they will change things. I found a company that made one for me. All you have to do is download an app. on your phone or tablet, turn on the app. it works with your camera. If you have the right app. you will just need to place the bar in the center of the viewer and it will automagically bring you to Baldies Blog.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Tg6cCfyo562WrQIsfCozhn8wtW2AD7zC4OQlvCgsP5fdiGEDJ4OXf8-U2lWqyQQ_Pk97TJn5RzBpJ4Y-waAfbfUzwwJMEf7uXQGpDmknF_9EOInpSkDKzq4q_ZckS3Onz4hmRsBpRDga/s1600/IMG_20120731_184951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Tg6cCfyo562WrQIsfCozhn8wtW2AD7zC4OQlvCgsP5fdiGEDJ4OXf8-U2lWqyQQ_Pk97TJn5RzBpJ4Y-waAfbfUzwwJMEf7uXQGpDmknF_9EOInpSkDKzq4q_ZckS3Onz4hmRsBpRDga/s320/IMG_20120731_184951.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is the frontside of the stone.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjacwFvnqDA6kAqs_g7O9jzAS1DM6kQfxgIdDDV_5hE0dg6lIeYsGrHZPwiulxuDDzS7W3__ZAi3q7Fj2pYIL_928tROR6o3eFeV3-YpuUiRuSBOghiR53Xf6z-8ntlmk6CdDW62xCr8F7/s1600/IMG_20120731_185029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjacwFvnqDA6kAqs_g7O9jzAS1DM6kQfxgIdDDV_5hE0dg6lIeYsGrHZPwiulxuDDzS7W3__ZAi3q7Fj2pYIL_928tROR6o3eFeV3-YpuUiRuSBOghiR53Xf6z-8ntlmk6CdDW62xCr8F7/s320/IMG_20120731_185029.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The stone represents everything about Hillary. If you know her, you will be able to pick up even the little details. It's also Xander approved. Hillary told me nothing too big for a headstone but I felt anything less would be wrong for a remarkable person. That's why it took me forever to pick the perfect stone. Hillary will forgive me for what I paid to make it perfect. She always loved the end results of everything I did even if she could not see it in the beginning. She always trusted me.</div>
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</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-86992199594478871922012-03-14T19:52:00.003-04:002012-03-17T19:53:05.182-04:00Lessons Learned<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-45182027479716852372012-03-13T16:36:00.000-04:002012-03-13T16:36:59.182-04:00here is our girl...still making the paper!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h2><center>‘She's Always Been a Fighter'</center></h2><b>By Chris Fleisher</b><br />
<b>Valley News Staff Writer</b><br />
<div class="text"><b>Charlestown </b>-- All that Hillary St. Pierre-Ford wanted was a second opinion.</div><div class="text">It was December 2006 and just nine months prior, at the age of 23, she had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. </div><div class="text">An emergency room nurse by profession, St. Pierre-Ford educated herself about the disease and discussed treatment options with her doctors at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Still, she wanted to hear another opinion. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center was her choice. Her doctors went about setting up an appointment. It would take six weeks, she was told.</div><div class="rectangle"><!--
<img src="../graphics/rectangle.gif"> --><!-- ADSDAQ RECTANGLE AD
<script src="http://tag.contextweb.com/TagPublish/getjs.aspx?action=VIEWAD&cwrun=200&cwadformat=300X250&cwpid=510038&cwwidth=300&cwheight=250&cwpnet=1&cwtagid=39905"></script> END ADSDAQ RECTANGLE AD--><!-- OPENX RECTANGLE AD--> <div id="beacon_fbc1c2925d" style="left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; visibility: hidden;"><img alt="" height="0" src="http://cmas.concordmonitor.com/www/delivery/lg.php?bannerid=276&campaignid=88&zoneid=35&loc=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vnews.com%2F03122012%2F8409129.htm&cb=fbc1c2925d" style="height: 0px; width: 0px;" width="0" /></div><div id="cw_td_2069204" style="display: none; height: 0px; width: 0px;"></div><div style="display: none; height: 0px; width: 0px;"> <noscript><img src="http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=8&c2=2102&c3=483&c4=&c5=&c6=&c15=1201%2C2866&c16=DDN01.SHME2&cv=2.0&cj=1" /></noscript></div><div style="display: none; height: 0px; width: 0px;"><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="NO" src="http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-01-0VIaSjnOLg.gif?tags=CONTEXTWEB.BLOCK.ADULTLANGUAGE,PUBLISHER.510038,1201,2866,CAMPAIGN..0,DDN01,SHME2,ADSIZE.300X250" width="0"></iframe></div><div style="display: none;"><iframe src="http://bh.contextweb.com/bh/visitormatch?tag=39905&pid=510038"></iframe></div><!--END OPENX RECTANGLE AD--></div><div class="text">“As aggressive as her cancer was, she didn't have six weeks,” said Nancy St. Pierre, her mother.</div><div class="text">Having been on the other side of health care, St. Pierre-Ford knew how the system worked. But she could not believe that in a digital era when patient information could be transmitted instantaneously, that a dying person would have to wait six weeks before they could even be seen at another hospital. </div><div class="text">In fact, she didn't have to wait that long. St. Pierre-Ford used her technological savvy and her knowledge of the health care system to get her record sent to Sloan-Kettering. She got an opinion back two days later. </div><div class="text">The doctors at Sloan-Kettering told her pretty much the same thing she heard at DHMC. Yet, the experience proved to be a revelation about how the current health care system was failing patients. She decided then that there had to be a faster, more efficient way to provide care. </div><div class="text">“It was clear that people who did not have the network she had, or the knowledge she had, or the chutzpah she had, were dying,” St. Pierre said.</div><div class="text">Last month, St. Pierre-Ford died at the age of 29. But until the moment that cancer claimed her life, she was determined not to let her experience as a patient go to waste. She turned her frustration into action, advocating for reform at the federal and state levels, writing about her experience on her blog and the news website Huffington Post, and becoming a voice for patients who she felt were being neglected by the system.</div><div class="text">Once an aspiring communications major at the College of New Rochelle in New York, St. Pierre-Ford used her writing and technology skills to raise awareness of problems within the health care system and also suggest ways to solve them. Her legacy could be an electronic health record system, called “Patients as Partners,” that acts as a kind of “Facebook” for health care, where multiple providers from different hospitals can communicate in one place about a single patient.</div><div class="text">She designed the project from her bed, then patented it and gave it to the state of New Hampshire, which is now considering it as part of a larger effort to create an electronic medical records exchange program.</div><div class="text">Those people who came to know St. Pierre-Ford after her diagnosis in April 2006 were impressed by the scope of her accomplishments in such a brief and difficult period at the end of her life. But her closest friends and family -- the people who knew her before she was a patient -- were well aware of what she was capable of.</div><div class="text">“When Hillary was born, we almost lost her,” said John West, the retired Claremont physician who delivered Hillary, and her twin sister, Heather. “She wasn't breathing, her heart beat was slow… From then on, she's always been a fighter.”</div><h2><center>A Call to Nursing</center></h2><div class="text">A smart and ambitious small-town girl from Charlestown, St. Pierre-Ford set her sights high after graduating from Fall Mountain Regional High School in 2001.</div><div class="text">She wanted to be in New York City and decided to attend a college just north of there in New Rochelle, N.Y.</div><div class="text">St. Pierre-Ford was a talented writer and had plans to become a communications major. But during her freshman year, in September 2001, she had a change of heart.</div><div class="text">The Sept. 11 attacks created a critical and immediate need for health care workers to treat injured victims. Bearing witness to that became her calling to be a nurse.</div><div class="text">“She decided throughout that first semester that it didn't make sense to stay in communications when she could do more in nursing,” said Victor St. Pierre, her father.</div><div class="text">St. Pierre-Ford entered the nursing program at New Rochelle the following semester and immediately developed a passion for the work. Never one to shy from a challenge, she craved the intensity of the emergency room and worked as a nurse's aid in rough parts of the city, including a hospital ER in the Bronx.</div><div class="text">“I remember when she had her first gunshot victim,” said Nancy St. Pierre. “She called me and was so excited.”</div><div class="text">St. Pierre-Ford found working in Harlem and in the Bronx to be exhilarating and fulfilling. Meanwhile, she excelled in her classes and was on her way to graduating with honors. Then, just before her junior year began, St. Pierre-Ford learned that she was pregnant. </div><div class="text">She gave birth to her son, Xander, over spring break of that year. It would change everything, Victor St. Pierre said, ultimately convincing her to return to Charlestown to raise her child.</div><div class="text">“She originally wanted to stay in New York, get away from this little town and spread her wings,” Victor St. Pierre said. “But Xander made things different.”</div><div class="text">After graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2004, Hillary St. Pierre-Ford returned home to raise a child and begin her career. She married Xander's father, Jon, that September and was hired at Valley Regional Hospital as a nurse in the emergency department.</div><div class="text">Frank Schell, who was an internist at Valley Regional, said he was immediately impressed.</div><div class="text">“She was truly a remarkable nurse,” he said. “She was always a go-to person.”</div><div class="text">Over the next year and a half, St. Pierre-Ford's career took off. She decided to pursue studies to become a nurse practitioner. (West felt she should be a doctor.) Then, on April 5, 2006, all those plans took a back seat.</div><div class="text">“She had just signed up for that (nurse practitioner) program when all of a sudden, this damn lump occurred in her neck,” West said.</div><div class="text">West drove with her to DHMC on the day of her diagnosis. It was Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a disease in which “95 percent of the cases are curable,” West said. </div><div class="text">Afterwards, they went to eat at Three Tomatoes Trattoria in Lebanon and talked. She was concerned, but resolved not to let it control her life.</div><div class="text">“Hillary really wanted to live for a number of things,” West said. “Primarily, Xander, but she felt she had a lot to do. And she did it.”</div><h2><center>Struggles Within the System</center></h2><div class="text">St. Pierre Ford began seeking treatment for her cancer at DHMC. But it was not the only place she would get care. </div><div class="text">She would consult with doctors at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and New York-Presbyterian at Columbia University in New York City. She also sought guidance of colleagues such as Schell.</div><div class="text">Early on, everyone was optimistic, Schell said.</div><div class="text">“She had what should have been a highly curable disease,” said Schell, who is now an oncologist at DHMC. “And she had an ace in the hole, which was her twin sister.”</div><div class="text">In early 2007, St. Pierre-Ford underwent a bone marrow transplant with her sister, Heather, as the donor. Unfortunately, it did not take, and she had another transplant, this time from a European donor, the following year.</div><div class="text">The cancer kept coming back -- 13 times in all. At one point, she learned about a clinical trial for an experimental cancer drug at Dana Farber. She wanted to be a part of it.</div><div class="text">But coordination between DHMC and Dana Farber proved to be difficult.</div><div class="text">“She was in a no-man's land for six weeks,” said Victor St. Pierre. “Both thought the other was treating her.”</div><div class="text">“It was hard to get the records, not out of DHMC, but just get them coordinated,” West said. “It was like (Dana Farber and DHMC) weren't quite connecting with each other.”</div><div class="text">Schell wasn't part of her care team, but he offered to make some calls for her. Eventually, the situation was ironed out.</div><div class="text">Although uncommon, patients can manage many aspects of their own care, Schell said. But not many people have the knowledge or will to do so.</div><div class="text">“Patients rarely feel empowered, because they don't understand the system,” he said. “They don't know how it works.”</div><div class="text">Federal privacy laws under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act can become an enormous obstacle for physicians who need to share patient information. Such laws are well intentioned, as they seek to protect patient privacy, Schell said. But they can also create bureaucracy that hinders quick access to care.</div><div class="text">“The problem is that it's very complex and as much as the data transfer needs to be efficient, you have to guard against dissemination of information beyond the scope of where the patient wants it,” he said. “But once the decision is made, it should happen at the speed of light.” </div><div class="text">There were other concerns. She wrote on her blog, called “Baldie's Blog,” and for other Web publications about the immense costs to her family, how insurance maximums would cut off life-prolonging treatments. Last year, she wrote for the Huffington Post about how health care costs were forcing her to consider a “Medicaid divorce,” in which she would legally divorce her husband to protect his financial assets and, in becoming single and destitute, make herself eligible for Medicaid to pay for care. (She and Jon did not divorce.) Private insurance, she found, would not cover many treatments.</div><div class="text">Relying on digital media to spread her message, St. Pierre-Ford wondered why her doctors couldn't use the same technology to better coordinate her care. That's when she started a project.</div><div class="text">“She felt, there has got to be a better way and a faster way and a more efficient way of having treatment than this,” said Nancy St. Pierre. “That's when Patients as Partners was started.”</div><h2><center>Patients as Partners</center></h2><div class="text">Her concept was an electronic health record system, in which patients would have control of their own information while allowing health care providers access.</div><div class="text">By allowing patients to control what information was available in an online network, they might be able to get around restrictive privacy laws because the patient would have consented to releasing that information. That way, any physician who was caring for that patient would have access to the records instantaneously, and whenever they needed.</div><div class="text">St. Pierre-Ford patented the system and gave it to the state of New Hampshire to consider as it develops its own electronic medical records exchange program, a part of federal health reform.</div><div class="text">State Sen. Bob Odell, R-Lempster, has been appointed to the board of the New Hampshire Health Information Organization, which is overseeing the rollout of that program.</div><div class="text">Odell first met St. Pierre-Ford in 2007 during a public hearing about the state budget at River Valley Community College in Claremont. She was an “impassioned” speaker, he recalled, and very convincing about the need to continue funding for various health care-related programs.</div><div class="text">The following year, Odell's wife was diagnosed with cancer.</div><div class="text">“When Hillary found out about that, she contacted me to ask how I was doing,” Odell said in an interview last week. “Our relationship went from being about public policy issues to become very personal.”</div><div class="text">That personal relationship with St. Pierre-Ford, and hearing her frustrations, also deepened his understanding of the need for better communication between providers.</div><div class="text">“We think about health records as being the future and located in one hospital,” he said. “But what happens when you're moving around the country? We don't have a system to do that.”</div><div class="text">Most hospitals in the Upper Valley, and indeed throughout the nation, are implementing electronic health records systems in order to streamline care. Legislation passed in 2009 as part of the stimulus bill authorized federal incentives -- through Medicare and Medicaid -- to health care providers that put in place comprehensive electronic systems by 2014. But not all of these systems are compatible with one another, and there have been concerns raised about transferring patient data between institutions.</div><div class="text">Hospital officials, including those at DHMC, have said they are aware of the challenges in getting the various software platforms to “talk” with each other.</div><div class="text">The man who is leading DHMC's conversion to electronic records, Andrew Gettinger, said the hospital continues to make strides in improving electronic communication with other health care providers. He had concerns with a system that would allow patients to be selective about which information was shared -- they might suppress crucial information that a doctor would need to know.</div><div class="text">Generally, however, there is a great need to be able to share patient records electronically through a health information exchange, he said.</div><div class="text">“I am completely supportive of that. I think that's an important thing,” said Gettinger, who is medical director of information systems and informatics at DHMC. “I quite frankly would love to have more enthusiasm for it and quite frankly funding for it, both at the federal level and at the state level.”</div><div class="text">Schell thought it would be nice if St. Pierre-Ford's idea could play a role in developing New Hampshire's exchange.</div><div class="text">“If that is a success, it would be a truly fitting legacy for her,” he said. </div><div class="text">St. Pierre-Ford was, indeed, frustrated with many aspects of the health care system but held great hope for federal reform efforts, even if she did not live long enough to benefit from them, said her friends and family.</div><div class="text">The urgency St. Pierre-Ford felt for reform wasn't to save only herself, said Nancy St. Pierre. She was fortunate to know the system well enough to be her own advocate, which led to better care. In some respects, St. Pierre-Ford actually enjoyed a position of privilege. </div><div class="text">And that disparity in the care patients received, Nancy St. Pierre said, is what drove her daughter to fight.</div><div class="text">“She felt that just because you don't have the knowledge, or just because you don't have the self-esteem,” she said, “shouldn't be a reason why you don’t survive your disease.”</div><div class="text"><b><i>Chris Fleisher can be reached at 603-727-3229 or cfleisher@vnews.com.</i></b></div></div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-35213943611708032602012-03-08T20:32:00.000-05:002012-03-08T20:32:02.306-05:00Fundraiser!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hello Blog Readers! <br />
We have had a lot of requests about bracelets for men and children. So we have designed a silicone bracelet to raise money for Relay for Life, Xander's college fund, and The North Charlestown Community School Playground Fund. <br />
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The pictures are below. The thicker bracelet is for kids (in youth size), and the thinner bracelet is for adults. If you are interested in supporting Hillary's dream by wearing one of these bracelets please let me know! <br />
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We are selling them for $2.00 a piece. <br />
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Just send an email to Brynn Kane at <a href="mailto:teacherbrynn@yahoo.com">teacherbrynn@yahoo.com</a><br />
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Thank you for your support! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizo9kN73LseLJX5ikMcmb5_prf9GtykO2LO__rlEy82i0LjYfBVG9YDlw_U_i0dKb4DMYgCI0X6rjNIUhNZA6CztOMFrPjabV0ZNtNSTwRobN26Y4Smg0xT9QnH798-JCK_UQdR8FXgbBy/s1600/hillary+adult+bracelet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizo9kN73LseLJX5ikMcmb5_prf9GtykO2LO__rlEy82i0LjYfBVG9YDlw_U_i0dKb4DMYgCI0X6rjNIUhNZA6CztOMFrPjabV0ZNtNSTwRobN26Y4Smg0xT9QnH798-JCK_UQdR8FXgbBy/s320/hillary+adult+bracelet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWl-QWTZXj6lFeJTOgf_56ZuB0fJGXeJSwS6QT0xvJk874YIyitTGB14GLvbMK8_yaoyJ98Lq4d4mWvqB62oZEvu8yUs-vCC3vTHK7LgNjqUICKqF4mCKriMOIJTCXXe8uyF-5JMKwgot8/s1600/hillary+youth+bracelet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="83" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWl-QWTZXj6lFeJTOgf_56ZuB0fJGXeJSwS6QT0xvJk874YIyitTGB14GLvbMK8_yaoyJ98Lq4d4mWvqB62oZEvu8yUs-vCC3vTHK7LgNjqUICKqF4mCKriMOIJTCXXe8uyF-5JMKwgot8/s320/hillary+youth+bracelet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-80965128664802759582012-03-05T19:54:00.000-05:002012-03-05T19:54:25.909-05:00Patients as Partners<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QscxrsBfXsJiu2FxxjBt5wLOXL-xdeLQub_hT-L4IvZxC7QLyihTf3379dg56fiDYpl4xnmx9b5zff96jM9orl71M9RXLt0xKe9Pn_fRy1BwJwFVg4n5kZnfDG_lczPsfaZ8DSbAO_Ak/s1600/patients+as+partners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QscxrsBfXsJiu2FxxjBt5wLOXL-xdeLQub_hT-L4IvZxC7QLyihTf3379dg56fiDYpl4xnmx9b5zff96jM9orl71M9RXLt0xKe9Pn_fRy1BwJwFVg4n5kZnfDG_lczPsfaZ8DSbAO_Ak/s320/patients+as+partners.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Check out the new Facebook page. Go to the link and "like" it! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The mission of Patients as Partners is to allow health care providers to share clinical information electronically- among providers in NH and then later between in-state and out-of-state providers.</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-76007610817846427322012-03-04T16:15:00.000-05:002012-03-04T16:15:17.956-05:00BRACELETS!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Last Christmas Nancy gave a bunch of close friends to Hillary a bracelet to show how much she appreciated the help and support they have given to Hillary over the years. Over the last month a few more have gone out to some more special people.<br />
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We have gotten many compliments on these bracelets. The bracelets have a bead for each color cancer ribbon. There will be a silver cancer ribbon charm, and a purse charm (special for Hillary). They show support for ALL loved ones who are fighting the ultimate fight. <br />
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For another fundraiser towards Relay for Life, Xander's college fund, and the North Charlestown Community School Playground Fund, we are going to make and sell the bracelets.<br />
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1 bracelet for $10.00 or 2 for $15.00<br />
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If you would like to order a bracelet please contact<br />
Brynn Kane<br />
teacherbrynn@yahoo.com<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzH1hWfOZJmBKEY3LftPhWFy3LBf9ejyVpfJdE2kDbR1S9xPjDq_WKZCgDxRL1TasOTWNO4wO75u3BsQK2jEC0U_yTdin2blx003lSjdKAEiHHb_tgtj88wpIBY0Bz_fbDX5BYHSv4rlX8/s1600/bracelet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzH1hWfOZJmBKEY3LftPhWFy3LBf9ejyVpfJdE2kDbR1S9xPjDq_WKZCgDxRL1TasOTWNO4wO75u3BsQK2jEC0U_yTdin2blx003lSjdKAEiHHb_tgtj88wpIBY0Bz_fbDX5BYHSv4rlX8/s320/bracelet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-54570861167500314652012-03-04T16:00:00.000-05:002012-03-04T16:00:56.589-05:00ULTIMATE GIRL FIGHTER SHIRTS!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The shirts are in! <br />
Hillary's friends and family are selling t-shirts to raise money for Relay for Life, Xander's college fund, and the North Charlestown Community School Playground Fund. <br />
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Prices:<br />
Small, Medium, and Large - $12.00<br />
X-Large to 3XL - $15.00<br />
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See pictures below. The front is first and the back is second.<br />
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If you would like to order a shirt please contact:<br />
Michelle Springer<br />
michelle.l.springer@hitchcock.org<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNp8gjOR7kPEMYPdOuygZVqywsdo1VjlXwVXZ0hXquOl23uJzrFif2fCVmgK0MLuqnY8RPvhPPfAuTjjjSxSLWeEew1_63rgZAFDNlhzE9kc-Dcwm4UYjgbFyp1PKrFLniE4MZgDbV5I0/s1600/front+of+tshirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNp8gjOR7kPEMYPdOuygZVqywsdo1VjlXwVXZ0hXquOl23uJzrFif2fCVmgK0MLuqnY8RPvhPPfAuTjjjSxSLWeEew1_63rgZAFDNlhzE9kc-Dcwm4UYjgbFyp1PKrFLniE4MZgDbV5I0/s320/front+of+tshirt.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cfcQ1SBTAzHkRmxwniwI9kWNHtDezVH6rKuykuTD9vkxKu4Sdn3cql-56ZVsAkhJx12VT6xwsMtw-_CrfVkidPUPl7Z14yaUD0wZfrlCytdlF3VKzxYZ7Fba9oni67bQQvDa3Gw_kUVQ/s1600/back+of+tshirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cfcQ1SBTAzHkRmxwniwI9kWNHtDezVH6rKuykuTD9vkxKu4Sdn3cql-56ZVsAkhJx12VT6xwsMtw-_CrfVkidPUPl7Z14yaUD0wZfrlCytdlF3VKzxYZ7Fba9oni67bQQvDa3Gw_kUVQ/s320/back+of+tshirt.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><br />
AND DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT OUR LINK TO DONATE TO THE RELAY FOR LIFE TO THE RIGHT! :)</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-27733310492198065732012-02-14T22:15:00.000-05:002012-02-14T22:15:42.825-05:00Sen. Bob Odell's Words<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Hi too all<br style="line-height: 23px;" />Happy day. I slept all night. Some wood cutting and a basketball practice with Xander can make you tired!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I just had to send along the front page article from the Claremont Eagle times from yesterday. I think this will answer some of Frank Eastons "so What"? I think Hillary had always gone the extra step to make it happen. I hope to be the consumer advocate on this Health Information Board.<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br />
<br style="line-height: 23px;" />God Bless Hillary<br style="line-height: 23px;" />God bless us all<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Vic</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM21jxSgcgN2TYtsmW2UrJDlFcdg9GIyEovwuRsVFttYhTfIo4xxqoWT2g8XPhYsYSwz0hjKFgAhalr9O2Mad8a5Keu9hLbB2u2V9BRL8g6Vo6BKZelLn3jyWp5HTcqfTU97WzJpP9dLNi/s1600/senator+odell+eagle+times+2-13-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM21jxSgcgN2TYtsmW2UrJDlFcdg9GIyEovwuRsVFttYhTfIo4xxqoWT2g8XPhYsYSwz0hjKFgAhalr9O2Mad8a5Keu9hLbB2u2V9BRL8g6Vo6BKZelLn3jyWp5HTcqfTU97WzJpP9dLNi/s640/senator+odell+eagle+times+2-13-12.jpg" width="464" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
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</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-58473659126277349792012-02-13T22:02:00.000-05:002012-02-13T22:02:23.142-05:00More To Come<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">First off, I would like to thank all the support you have given my wife. This Blog is her life, her joy, her love. If she could not sleep she would be here writing. If she had a thought she would be here writing. If she had a dream, a problem, an idea, a focus, or just wanted to write this is where she would be. You are inspiration to her writings. Xander and I thank you for being there. I wish I could say more on how much everyones support means to me but I do not have the talent Hillary does when it comes to words.<br />
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I do have a story to share with everyone.<br />
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When Hillary first started college she wanted to be a writer or editor. She was going after a degree in communications and what better place than NYC area. Her freshmen year she became editor and writer. The teachers saw her talent and wanted to expose her talent to everyone. She received A+ grades in every class and did an excellent job for the newspaper. 9/11 happened at the point and NYC was hurting. Communication jobs were starting to become more difficult to find so Hillary was thinking about a different job. She talked to me and others. She was really thinking about nursing. I told her that she was an excellent writer and she should go after the nursing career. Her thought process was, she could become a nurse and could travel to say, Africa as a nurse by helping people and than she could write about it as a reporter. She thought she found a way into these countries that needed help by becoming a nurse and writing about all the bad things going on. The nursing classes started (I think the end of her freshmen year) and she went to school in the summers and received a BS nursing degree. I want you to know she was only in school for a total of 3 years when it takes 4 years for a nursing degree, that included the first year in communications. She also had the highest GPA in nursing when she graduated. She was perfect for the job. She always set goals for herself and completed them. That is just one of the things I love about her (self driven).<br />
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There are <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">4 new Posts</span></b> besides this one. Her Baldie's Blog will continue as long as possible. Vic will have more updates and maybe I will share more stories on how she lived.</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-19856016330971367052012-02-13T21:23:00.002-05:002012-02-13T21:23:30.421-05:00Vic's Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="line-height: normal;">Hi Too all<br style="line-height: 23px;" />Yes it's 3:00 am again. It seems to be a theme. This time is different. the Emotions are completely changed. While I am still broken hearted I am very proud. Not so much as for what Hillary has accomplished but for what her friends have done. My girls from the 3rd and 4th Grade basketball team were all there. To see them develop from 8-9 year olds to the most beautiful, intelligent, successful group of women that I have ever met is a magnificent feeling. I could see a part of My self, Heather and Hillary with them.<br style="line-height: 23px;" />I can see Xander with a lot of these traits at this age. I can see Jon at the same age as I was then. But what I don't see is the mom's that were so supportive of those girls 20 years ago. I know that Xander will be missing his mom and no one can replace her. I cannot predict the future but if History can repeat itself, Xander will be a strong successful man that can change the world 20 years from now.<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Hillary Clinton Coined a phase that said something like: It Takes a community to educate a child. I think that Is 1 statement that rings true. Our Hillary has the most beautiful community of support. I think of the community as a small, close knit, geographical location. Hillary built a community without boundaries, without any prejudice, without color or nationality barriers. She could see inner beauty. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Hillary was a mirror image twin. When she smiled, it would penetrate and reflect an image back to her. If your heart had love in it she would bring it out. If it didn't she would discard you for people with a positive view. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Wow way too many random thoughts tonight to get anything to flow. I am just overwhelmed at what has happened this week. Collette told us yesterday that this was her first funeral ever. I think we set the bar pretty high. The lines were unbelievable long the funeral was long but we had so much to say. We know we missed a lot of people that wanted to give their respects. We were just over whelmed with love and support!!<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />I will share this. That every time I hear " Hear I am Lord" I will break down and cry. No one could do it better than Jandee and Joe at the Funeral. Every time I hear "Halo" I will think of Hillary the angel.<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />. I still have Hillary's note to me from her "Just in Case" file to read. It will be a while before I can get to that. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /></span><span style="line-height: normal;">I can't begin to tell you how much we thank you all</span><br style="line-height: 17px;" /><b style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 17px;"><br style="line-height: 17px;" />God Bless Hillary and all her friends</b></span></div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-26315928120545599092012-02-13T21:22:00.000-05:002012-02-13T21:22:26.685-05:00Frank's Eulogy (Bigger Than Life, Bigger Than My Words)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>Team St. Pierre-Ford </b><span style="font: 12.0px Arial;"><b>–</b></span><b> Bigger Than Life. </b></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>A Lesson I</b><span style="font: 12.0px Arial;"><b>n Courage … Caring …</b></span><b> & Family </b><span style="font: 12.0px Arial;"><b>… </b></span><b>A tribute to Hillary </b></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> 5 years ago … life as I knew it changed. My father, then 90, was admitted to the hospital with </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">congestive heart failure. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> He was a determined man. He knew what he wanted, how he wanted it & when … he left little </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">room for negotiation. For example he was never far from Shasha his beloved German Shepherd. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> However hospitals have rules. So I parked the car where he see her out the window & I’d go out </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">every hour or so all week … to walk the dog & warm up the car. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> During one of those jaunts, a shy little 3 year old boy approached me carrying a Tyrannosaurus </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">rex. I told him I used to play with a real T-rex when I was his age because they lived in my </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">neighborhood then. Although only 3, I don’t think he bought that. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> He then asked if he could pet Sasha & I of course agreed. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> I learned later, that I was the 1<span style="font: 8.0px Arial;">st</span> stranger he had approached on his own to talk with. Of course, it </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">was the dog … not me … but it still makes me feel special. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> As we walked across the parking lot, he asked if I was there to visit my Mommy too? His dad told </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">me his 24 year old wife had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma & was at Mary Hitchcock where her twin sister </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Heather was donating bone marrow. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Little did I know that chance encounter would change my life. He was the connection that brought </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Hillary into my life … & into the lives of so many of my friends. He was none other than Xander … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">World Class Frog Catcher Extraordinaire. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> And today … I want to thank my buddy Xander … for giving me a gift that I shall cherish for the </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">rest of my life. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Thank you for introducing me to your mother and inviting me into your family. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> When Vic asked if I’d give a Eulogy, I quickly told him I would be honored. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> However, after agreeing to speak today, the reality set in. The enormity of the task dawned on me </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">& brought back memories of a drive I had to make in the middle of the night in 1999 to tell my dad </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">that his daughter, my sister had been murdered. What words would I choose? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> I have struggled, in like fashion, with what to say today. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> What could I say that could capture the essence of Hillary? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> I’m not going to attempt to recount Hillary’s accomplishments … we’d be here all weekend & I’d </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">likely miss many of them!! They were legion. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Instead, I’m going to talk about what the Hillary experience has meant to me. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><b>She was bigger than life!!</b></span> She was in fact, bigger than my words </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Eileen, a friend from Keene State, wrote suggesting 3 words that symbolize Hillary … Hope … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Faith … & Grace. 3 simple words, but not so simple concepts. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><b>Hope</b></span> … can mean many things... a wish, a dream, a desire, a feeling when you are down and </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">out. Over the years, we’ve all had hopes for Hillary … many of them realized ... albeit sadly the </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">hope for a cure was not. But she continued to push forward right to the end. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><b>Faith</b></span> ... the dictionary describes this as the ability to believe in something you can't see … but it </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">means so much more. For Hillary and her family, it helped them through some of the darkest </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">days when no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't control the situation & were forced to </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">accept it, not in a complacent way, but in a faithful way which brings a form of inner peace. Faith </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">is continuing treatment, even if it isn’t likely to work & may in fact make you feel worse because it </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">may help someone else. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><b>Grace</b></span> … is the hardest and most mysterious. Hillary showed grace as she put all the symptoms </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">and illness complications aside to write in her blog … to design and make jewelry … to coach or </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">attend Xander's games … to laugh with a college friend … or to humor an old War Horse like me. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Hillary showed grace when she continued to live … chin up … helping others less fortunate then </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">herself even as all that she hoped to accomplish got yanked out from underneath her. We saw </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">grace before she died, when she seemed to make peace … with herself … her world … her life … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">& she passed peacefully out of this world into the next where there is no pain. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><b>She was bigger than life!!</b></span> She was bigger than my words </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Team St. Pierre-Ford, is about courage … it’s about forging ahead in spite of the challenges. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> The 1<span style="font: 8.0px Arial;">st</span> day I met Hillary, I also met her mother Nancy. Things were kind of rough so to cheer </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">them up, so I bought a huge rainbow colored Dragon!! When I gave it to Hillary … I said I don’t </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">believe in free lunches so there is a condition that comes with this dragon. You can take it & give </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">it to Xander … but you must promise me that you will never EVER give up fighting!! If you do … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">you will have to take that Dragon away from that cute little boy & give it back. Because I don’t </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">give Dragons to quitters!! She never blinked. She said “It’s a deal.” </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> And she lived up to that deal … over the next 5+ years, she NEVER once quit fighting!! </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> In one of Vic’s last Updates, he described how the Hodgkin’s kept finding ways to mutate & come </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">back after every type of chemo they could give her. After radiation, the cancer moved. She had 2 </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">different types of bone marrow transplants & the 2<span style="font: 8.0px Arial;">nd</span> one created a complication called Graff vs. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Host disease which caused problems with her eyes, lungs, kidney & liver. In spite of beating the </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">cancer 13 times, it came back for a 14th time!! </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Yet even then, she talked of getting more chemo. I always believed that while she was realistic </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">about her chances, she always hoped that maybe they would learn something that would help </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">someone else. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><b>She was bigger than life!!</b></span> She was bigger than my words </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Team St. Pierre-Ford is about making the most out of every moment. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> A couple of years after I met Hillary, there was a video that went viral on the Internet … it was </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">called “The Last Lecture” … by Randy Pausch, a Professor at Carnegie Mellon. Remember it? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">He had inoperable cancer & was saying good-bye to his students. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> He started his lecture talking about his childhood. He realized as he went through family pictures, </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">there wasn’t a single one of him as a kid when he wasn’t smiling. Does that sound like someone </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">we all know? Have you ever seen a picture of Hillary when she wasn’t smiling? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> And oh how she could smile. When I 1<span style="font: 8.0px Arial;">st</span> started hanging around Hillary, her mother Nancy, like all </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">“she bears”, was protective of her cubs. She wondered why was an old white haired guy was </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">hanging around 1 of her beautiful daughters? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> She even made me give her references!! </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> I assured her my intentions were honorable … however, today I will admit that Hillary’s smile had </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">me from the 1<span style="font: 8.0px Arial;">st</span>. So Nancy was in fact, wise to question my motives. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> However, it took only 1 look at Hillary’s husband Jon to keep me on the straight & narrow. Man, </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">that guy is BIG!! </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> But your troubles aren’t over yet Nancy. You do have another beautiful daughter. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Hillary packed a lifetime of accomplishments into 29 short years!! Yet she never stopped living </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">with gusto … right up to the end. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> She gave new meaning to an old biker saying about living life … Ride it like you stole it. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> And she did it ‘til the end. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> She encouraged us to live each day because you never know. I was again reminded of that </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">lesson last night. After the Visiting hours at the Funeral Home, I drove to Dartmouth Hitchcock to </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">visit a dear family friend. When I got there, I learned I was 10 minutes too late. He died just </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">before I arrived. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Live as if there were no tomorrows. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><b>She was bigger than life!!</b></span> She was bigger than my words </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Team St. Pierre-Ford is about caring for one another no matter what the challenges. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> There aren’t many people whom I truly admire. That is saved for a select few. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Today, there is such a person among us - a co-captain of Team St. Pierre-Ford … Hillary’s </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">husband Jon. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Over the last 6 years … when medical bills outstripped insurance … when the woman he loved </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">couldn’t do the things she signed up for because she was fighting for her life … Jon always had </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Hillary’s back. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> He stuck by her in his quiet, unassuming way … never complaining. He would step in to pick up </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">her share of the load when it was necessary … at times being primary care giver to both Hillary & </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">to Xander. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Conversely, when Jon struggled with his own serious medical issues, Hillary, in spite of being sick </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">herself, stepped forward to care for Jon. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> How many of us can honestly say we’ve been as self-less as Jon & Hillary? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><b>They are bigger than life!!</b></span> They are bigger than my words. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Team St. Pierre-Ford is about teaching … & making a difference. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> In 2007, Hillary suffered a major setback & we almost lost her. She was back in the hospital for </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">an extended stay when her computer crashed. And anyone who knows Hillary …knows her </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">computer was an extension of her. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> I had an old laptop I agreed to give to her, but there were conditions. She had to promise to do </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">something for someone else. She gave me one of those beautiful smiles & said no problem. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> After thinking about it, she called to tell me she was wanted to chronicle her battle with cancer by </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">starting a Blog. I didn’t know how to spell Blog!! And I never imagined what that would grow into. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> She chronicled her battle so well, that her site was subsequently listed by The American Cancer </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Society as one of The Top Ten patient-written cancer resources. And along the way, she helped </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">us understand the challenges patients face in the American health care system. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> And throughout the last 6 years … Vic kept us abreast of the situation. In the process, we came </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">to recognize the total love of family that he & Nancy have. They taught us to focus on the positive </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">… even during the darkest hours. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> No matter what was going on with his family, whenever I talked with Vic … his 1<span style="font: 8.0px Arial;">st</span> questions were </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">about me & others. Along the way, he showed us that life, even when it isn’t easy, can be lived </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">with kindness & generosity. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> While I wasn’t able to be with her at the end … I took inspiration from Vic & Nancy who set the </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">standard in courage for us all. I learned sometimes we have to accept things we cannot change. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Throughout the last 5+ years I’ve known this family, Team St. Pierre-Ford has had a consistent </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">theme … their quiet dignity made me want to be a better person. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><b>They are bigger than life!!</b></span> They are bigger than my words. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> My friend Dianne, also from Keene State, wrote that Hillary may have lost this war with cancer, but </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">she surely did win a lot of the battles along the way. While she is no longer here with us in body, </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">you can still see her in the things she left behind. You can see her in her biggest legacy … her </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">wonderful son Xander … who gave me the gift of Hillary. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Xander … I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the gift you gave me by introducing </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">me to your family. Thank you for teaching me to catch frogs & I hope you will come up to VT this </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">summer & give me another lesson & maybe we can go for a ride on the old ’48 Harley. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Heather … thank you for your bravery … for enduring the pain of being a bone marrow donor … & </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">for your hours sitting in countless hospital rooms with your sister. You are truly a gift girl!! </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Patrick … thank you for also being there through this struggle & for supporting your sister. You </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">meant a lot to her. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Jon … thank you for your strength & unwavering support for our girl. You have been there for </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Hillary … quietly & without fanfare. I admire you for that. It was not an easy journey & there were </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">no road maps to guide you. Now you face new challenges. It is up to you to teach the lessons </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Hillary would have taught Xander … to ensure he grows into a responsible, strong young man. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Vic & Nancy … thank you for adopting me into your family … & for sharing your gut wrenching </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">journey. Thank you for your caring & wisdom that helped us all through this journey. You have </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">set the standard for courage … class … dignity … & love. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Team St. Pierre-Ford … you have had a HUGE impact on MANY people's lives. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> <span style="font: 12.0px Helvetica;"><b>You are bigger than life!!</b></span> You are bigger than my words</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> While Hillary is gone from us physically, her spirit will always be here. My friend Dianne said it </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">best when she wrote about a country song … a father calling home when his son, who missed </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">him, asked … Daddy, when are you coming home? He said the first thing that came to his mind: </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">I'm already there … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Take a look around … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">I'm the sunshine in your hair … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">I'm the shadow on the ground … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">I'm the whisper in the wind … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">I'm your imaginary friend … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">And I know I'm in your prayers … </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">I'm already there. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> To Hillary … I say thanks for touching my heart in a very unique way … thank you for making me </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">want to be a better person. Thank you for making a difference … & for daring to dream big. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> In closing … where we once hoped Hillary would conquer this ugly disease, let’s hope that it will </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">be cured before more die. Let’s hope that Vic, Nancy, Heather, Patrick, Jon & Xander will find the </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">strength to deal with the days ahead. Let’s hope that this family, whom we've all come to love, will </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">find peace. And let’s hope that we see Xander grow up in the image of his mother & father. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> When people who work for me come up with a suggestion … I frequently ask So What? So what </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">will be different? So what will be the outcome? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> As we leave here today, I ask each of you to take a moment & answer so what? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> So what are you going to do, to keep Hillary’s legacy & Team St. Pierre-Ford alive? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Will you volunteer to coach youth soccer? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Will you listen to your kids a little more? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Will you take care of your spouse or significant other even when you don’t feel well? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Will you speak out against injustice & fight for what you believe in? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Will you comfort a stranger? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Will you find ways to make a difference? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Will you find ways every day to leave things a little better than you found them? </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> I hope you do. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Let’s keep Team St. Pierre-Ford & Hillary’s legacy alive </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: 12.0px Wingdings;"></span> </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> Thank you. </div><br />
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</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-11692780956064219222012-02-13T21:15:00.000-05:002012-02-13T21:15:18.471-05:00Politics and Hillary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i>Business Day World U.S. N.Y. / Region Business Technology Science Health Sports Opinion Arts Style Travel Jobs Real Estate Autos Global DealBook Markets Economy Energy Media Personal Tech Small Business Your Money <br style="line-height: 23px;" /> Advertise on NYTimes.com<br style="line-height: 23px;" />Awaiting Health Law’s Prognosis<br style="line-height: 23px;" />By REED ABELSON<br style="line-height: 23px;" />Published: February 1, 2011</i><br style="line-height: 23px;" /> <br style="line-height: 23px;" /> <br style="line-height: 23px;" /> With a court decision on Monday declaring the health care law unconstitutional and Republicans intent on repealing at least parts of it, thousands of Americans with major illnesses are facing the renewed prospect of losing their health insurance coverage. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" /> <br style="line-height: 23px;" />Herb Swanson for The New York Times<br style="line-height: 23px;" />Hillary St. Pierre, who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma, nearly ran out of insurance because of lifetime limits. <br style="line-height: 23px;" />Multimedia Interactive Feature <br style="line-height: 23px;" />The Health Care Law: The Growing Legal and Political OppositionDocument: Judge Vinson’s Ruling <br style="line-height: 23px;" />Related<br style="line-height: 23px;" />States Diverge on How to Deal With Health Care Ruling (February 2, 2011) <br style="line-height: 23px;" />Reporter’s Notebook: Tea Party Shadows Health Care Ruling (February 2, 2011) <br style="line-height: 23px;" />Enlarge This Image<br style="line-height: 23px;" /> <br style="line-height: 23px;" />Leah Nash for The New York Times<br style="line-height: 23px;" />Last year, the bill was $800,000 for the clotting factor medicine that Alex Ell, a 22-year-old with hemophilia, needs.<br style="line-height: 23px;" />The legislation put an end to lifetime limits on coverage for the first time, erasing the financial burdens, including personal bankruptcy, that had affected many ailing Americans. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />For example, Hillary St. Pierre, a 28-year-old former registered nurse who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma, had expected to reach her insurance plan’s $2 million limit this year. Under the new law, the cap was eliminated when the policy she gets through her husband’s employer was renewed this year. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Ms. St. Pierre, who has already come close once before to losing her coverage because she had reached the plan’s maximum, says she does not know what she will do if the cap is reinstated. “I will be forced to stop treatment or to alter my treatment,” Ms. St. Pierre, who lives in Charlestown, N.H., with her husband and son, said in an e-mail. “I will find a way to continue and survive, but who is going to pay?” <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />As judges and lawmakers debate the fate of the new health care law, patients like Ms. St. Pierre or Alex Ell, a 22-year-old with hemophilia who lives in Portland, Ore., fear losing one of the law’s key protections. Like Ms. St. Pierre, Mr. Ell expected to reach the limits of his coverage this year if the law had not passed. In 2010, the bill for the clotting factor medicine he needs was $800,000, and his policy has a $1.5 million cap. “It is a close call,” he said. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Exactly what will happen to the law’s specific provisions that prevent insurers from imposing lifetime limits and require them to phase out the annual limits now in place is unclear. While even Republicans concede that a full repeal is unlikely, Congress could strip certain elements of the legislation, like this one. As challenges to the law move through the courts, patients who have felt an immediate impact now confront added uncertainty. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />“We’ve got to protect people from catastrophic health problems,” said Ron Pollack, the executive director of Families USA, a consumer advocacy group that favored the law’s passage. “We don’t want people bankrupted.” <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Protecting people from facing these extremes is one of the main goals of the law, according to its proponents. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Asked about the effect of the law on those who had encountered an insurance ceiling, Kathleen Sebelius, the health secretary, said in a statement: “The Affordable Care Act is freeing Americans from worrying about having their insurance benefits run out when they need them the most.” <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Before the law was passed, an estimated 20,000 insured Americans reached the lifetime limits of their coverage each year. Decades old, these restrictions were put in place when both medical care and health insurance were much less expensive than they are today, said Tom Wildsmith, an official with the American Academy of Actuaries. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />In recent years, many employers, if they still had caps, set them fairly high, so that it was rare for someone to exceed the benefits unless they were seriously ill and required expensive care. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />“This is the kind of thing that grabs a cancer survivor who has had several operations,” said Gary Claxton, an executive with the Kaiser Family Foundation, which studies employer coverage. Only the very sick were affected. “People don’t voluntarily use this level of services,” he said. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Ms. St. Pierre nearly lost her insurance in 2008. After her first bone marrow transplant failed, she realized the coverage from her husband’s employer would run out before she could receive another transplant. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />She remembers reviewing her options and looking into treatments that would be less expensive. She enrolled in a clinical trial to test an unproved form of chemotherapy, for example, because it was free. She considered divorcing her husband, a move that could qualify her for Medicaid, or moving to Massachusetts, where she thought she might be able to afford and qualify for a policy. She has written about her experiences on her blog, called BaldiesBlog. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />But she was spared from making those decisions when her husband’s company was acquired, and she was able to enroll in a new health plan. “Luckily, the cap started over,” she said. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Ms. St. Pierre also now qualifies for Medicare, the federal health insurance program, because she is disabled, but her husband’s plan remains her primary source of insurance. Medicare would still leave her with significant medical bills if she lost her husband’s coverage because she has no supplemental insurance. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Without the lifetime cap, Ms. St. Pierre says she can now focus on what treatment makes the most sense rather than gamble that the most aggressive care will cure her and allow her to escape the maximum limits on coverage. “It opens up all sorts of options,” she said, including viewing her cancer as a chronic condition that she can afford to treat for many years. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Cancer patients like Ms. St. Pierre who are concerned about running out of coverage often try to tailor their treatments to see if they can avoid hitting their lifetime caps, said Stephen Finan, senior director of policy at the American Cancer Society. “People have to think about what’s their strategy,” he said. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />And while Ms. St. Pierre, who has worked with the cancer society, says she knows she is likely to be able to continue to receive some treatment without insurance, she also knows that it is not likely to be the optimal care. The same is true for any patient who runs out of coverage, Mr. Finan said. “You may well continue to get care, but the quality of care is markedly lower,” he said. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />The last time Mr. Ell neared the maximum on his parents’ policies, he had only $77,000 in remaining coverage — about a month’s worth of his clotting medicine. He had been able to switch plans offered by his parents’ employers. He works part time and is not eligible for insurance from his employer. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Among employers, the feelings are mixed about whether the limits should be eliminated, said Andrew Webber, who is the president of the National Business Coalition on Health. One of the coalition’s members, the Midwest Business Group on Health, recently conducted a survey of opinions by employers. About a quarter of those surveyed wanted to repeal the new law’s ban on lifetime and annual limits to coverage. While about half wanted to keep the provisions, some employers object on the grounds that they do not want the government to dictate what benefits they offer their workers. “Employers, for so many years, have had so much flexibility to design and change their policies from year to year,” Mr. Webber said, and the new law changes that. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />The expense of doing away with lifetime limits is fairly modest, said Mr. Wildsmith, the actuary. If a plan currently has a $1 million limit, eliminating it would add only 1 percent to the cost of the premium, he said. Many employers have much higher caps, making it even less expensive to eliminate them. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />While proponents of the law favor the elimination of the caps, some Republicans also think health coverage should no longer be subject to caps on a yearly or annual basis. The plan being proposed by the House Republicans “banned annual and lifetime limits and lowered premiums for millions of people,” said a spokeswoman for the House Ways and Means Committee. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Ms. St. Pierre says she knows she will want to continue her treatment, regardless of whether she has private coverage, but she also knows that someone will have to pay the bill. “Where the problem lies is who is going to pay for that,” she said. “Will they take my house or car?” <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />A version of this article appeared in print on February 2, 2011, on page B1 of the New York edition.</span></div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-48963845426410551832012-02-13T21:12:00.001-05:002012-02-13T21:12:22.605-05:00Heather's (sister) Eulogy to Hillary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">The last speech I gave for Hillary was at her and Jon’s wedding in 2004. Unfortunately there were more ups and downs during their life together than we expected at that time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was with Hillary since before she was born. We have a connection that spanned a lifetime and goes beyond her death.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hillary lived a remarkable life. She lived a life of caring, compassion and generosity. She loved openly and deeply. I was with her for all of the most important times, her birth, childhood, holidays, vacations, meeting (and introducing her to) her husband, Jon, their wedding, the birth of her son, Xander.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When Hillary became sick we thought it would be short term. But it turned out it wasn’t. Xander made it all worthwhile. She was always thinking of him during her two bone marrow transplants, treatments, and multiple recurrences. She fought hard for her life as she travelled to Dartmouth in Lebanon, Dana Farber in Boston, and Columbia Presbyterian in NYC to find a cure for her cancer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While Hillary was fighting for her life she was also fighting for the lives of other patients. She realized quickly that there are flaws in our healthcare system. There was no system in place for open communication between her many doctors. She constantly had to worry that her insurance was going to reject her necessary treatment. Or worse, cap her treatment costs at 2 million dollars, a dollar amount that she reached over 3 years ago. Hillary believed in a fundamental right to life regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.<span style="color: black; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: black;">She advocated for support of SB 158 to solve NH uncompensated care problems. She believed that this bill could not only reform the current health care system, but revolutionize it.</span> She was passionate about her beliefs. Please don’t let them die with her. Advocate for patient rights, participate in Relay for Life, donate blood, and sign up to be a bone marrow donor. Someone else did and they saved my sisters life, if only for a little while.</div><!--EndFragment--></div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-89260171136114961472012-02-11T10:20:00.000-05:002012-02-11T10:20:31.736-05:00Update from Vic & family<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Hi too all<br style="line-height: 23px;" />Yes it's 3:00 when I am writing again. I am tired from standing at the wake from 1:00 to 9:30. But all the support, many hugs, and positive people that shared their time today have all humbled me. What a small caring world we have around us. The moon shining in so bright has given a clear path to the computer to share some thoughts<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />I was stunned at how many players from other teams came to tell us their favorite stories of her as a competitor but how she could be a friend also.<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />I saw her her former coach who is also a twin give me some of the perspectives on both Heather and Hillary.<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />I watched as over 600 people flooded the wake, some of the wait times being nearly 2 hours!! I hope we didn't offend people by being so slow. Those people who didn't stay-- I don't blame you- I probably would have left and said some prayers. I could definitely feel your love. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />I was very happy that the whole mood was positive, a little crying but more amazement that she could accomplish so much in so many short years. It was heart wrenching.<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />For the several cancer survivors that she helped. you spoke with elegance on how she was able to help. For the several that have active cancer, especially the ones that Hillary would spread hope that you can beat it, I pray that you can keep her faith.<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Father Stan's comments hit me hard-- When I was sick she inspired me. After I was better she motivated me. If you don't know Father Stan he is the most active Priest I have ever met. He is 86 years old. If your a star wars fan he reminds me of Yoda. Wise man he is. The force is strong in him. He will say the funeral today. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />The church only holds about 250 people. We are now expecting 500+. I sit here tonight and say what are we going to do? Well we will send them to the reception hall or the Hope Hill cemetery and try to catch up with them there. We can only grieve from 1:00 to maybe 2:30. Then we are change from grieving to, how she touched us and how she has changed us. If it was Hillary she would be planning something new to make an impact.<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />I was told today about an article in the Washington Post-- How would the Republicans help Hillary St Pierre-- I made me remember the day we were going to Dana Farber in Boston for treatment but she had to stop in Concord to testify in front of the state senate. She did not have standing so she waited a long time to speak. Many dignitaries spoke to the bill. But when Hillary spoke every one in the room stopped and really listened. She had facts, she verbalized perfectly, she was just dazzling. I watched as a bill that faced certain death was transformed and passed because of her. She could personalize her issues but not for pity but real life effectiveness. I was so inspired that day. I remembered the the serenity prayer and thought how do you know the difference of the things you can't change? She was taking them on and winning!<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Well enough for today. I should rest. I had a wonderful wake -- if that is possible. I have over 1000 emails to respond too. I hope to get to all of them. I do about 3 at a time and have to stop. My heart has been touched by all of you.<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Thanks for your Prayers and support-- and way too many cookies. <br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Vic, Nancy, Grace and Patrick, Allen, Pierce, Preston,Heather, Jon Xander and God bless you Hillary </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBETI2Vbd1CJzNtpyOabJKZFVp9m9g8fCEDu5900SakuQywm-gnzRxw4ywA0AghgyM1s-HMPyk5fbYYGoeiLPM7hqmskU_Jljy5K1AJ2TtTvHuo19BNwf7_cQjJEcsm84dPyjE9LnF6t5O/s1600/heatherhillary2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBETI2Vbd1CJzNtpyOabJKZFVp9m9g8fCEDu5900SakuQywm-gnzRxw4ywA0AghgyM1s-HMPyk5fbYYGoeiLPM7hqmskU_Jljy5K1AJ2TtTvHuo19BNwf7_cQjJEcsm84dPyjE9LnF6t5O/s320/heatherhillary2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-39089197911070392612012-02-09T22:32:00.001-05:002012-02-09T22:35:36.490-05:00Hillary's Obituary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px;"><b style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;"><small style="line-height: 17px;"><span style="line-height: normal;">Hi too all<br style="line-height: 23px;" /><br style="line-height: 23px;" />Here is a small amount of how Hillary Lived. Apparently I did not hear all The Stories. I have heard several new ones from her friends</span></small> this week! We are having a reception after the funeral and burial on Saturday at the Claremont Senior Center. Please bring your best memories as we want to leave with the best memories of how she was able to do so much in such a short time.<br style="line-height: 20px;" /><br style="line-height: 20px;" />Thank you for the outpouring of support, prayers, novenas, masses and so much more. We have such a support system. we know That Hillary touched the lives of so many people. Yesterday she had 5000 visitors to her blog! And I don't blog!You all have touched our lives more than we can ever say.</b></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBK5kSLymAmuKbwkLwacb2zAV9zpUrpKPdkqpWX0nrhq-KsR0R2jjW1iPx7VgouIQQWZf-Sbtls8xJ5xXqr4z1KSrGpJ1Nq-e_Hss0N4ZitCpPKWeowLjpf8zx62Yt4IY-pWoGuAP81iv/s1600/Hillary+Obituary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px;"><b style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;">Vic, Nancy, Patrick & Grace, Allen, Heather Pierce & Preston, Jonathan, Alexander and especially God Bless Hillary</b></span><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBK5kSLymAmuKbwkLwacb2zAV9zpUrpKPdkqpWX0nrhq-KsR0R2jjW1iPx7VgouIQQWZf-Sbtls8xJ5xXqr4z1KSrGpJ1Nq-e_Hss0N4ZitCpPKWeowLjpf8zx62Yt4IY-pWoGuAP81iv/s640/Hillary+Obituary.jpg" width="640" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><b><br />
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</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-91901141476487364632012-02-07T21:15:00.000-05:002012-02-07T21:15:19.254-05:00Celebrating Hillary's Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Calling Hours<br />
Feb. 10 (Friday), 2012<br />
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm @ Stringers<br />
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm @ Stringers<br />
Claremont, NH<br />
<br />
Funeral<br />
Feb. 11 (Saturday), 2012<br />
1:00 pm @ Saint Joseph Parish</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-4278084236960904372012-02-07T13:05:00.000-05:002012-02-07T13:05:47.380-05:00Update from Vic & family<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px;">Hi too all <br style="line-height: 20px;" />Hillary has passed away tonight (Feb 6, 2012) with her twin sister Heather, brother Patrick and his wife Grace, mother Nancy and father Vic all at her bedside. Her husband Jon Ford and her son "Xander" had gone back home so X could play in his last game of the season. We had kidded, that Hillary would probably be there to see it also. It was a 7:30 pm game and she left us at 6:50 pm.<br style="line-height: 20px;" /><br style="line-height: 20px;" />Hillary hodgekins disease had been active for 6 years. She had an extremely agressive strain that would mutate and render that type of chemo useless. She had survived 2 bone marrow transplants, multiple chemo treatments, radiation and trial drugs. She allways had a positive outlook.<br style="line-height: 20px;" /><br style="line-height: 20px;" />Tonight we were listening to the music on her blog. She always wanted her music to tell her story. When "don't worry be happy"</span></div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-40318661505808896592012-02-03T06:49:00.000-05:002012-02-03T06:49:33.517-05:00Hill's Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I've lost so muh time being in the hospital.<br />
My trusty blakberry doesn't have a rise and shine feature for its screen. <br />
You figure with thousand of apps created over the past year, they'd do something for hospital induced disorentation, but NOOOOOO.<br />
Columbia-Pres has managed to block outgoing emails, making it impossible to communicate via my smart phone (aka blackberry curve). This is something they've accomplished since 2004 when I was here as a student.<br />
They should be very, very proud. I haven't been able to communicate my status, but I keep trying!!<br />
I keep writing, snippets, unsure of what is going through.<br />
Long story very short: This all started about Dec. 11. I received my last dose of SGN-35 in NYC at NYU's Langone Medical Center with what appeared to be good results, waited the allotted 3 weeks, then took it again at my home base hospital in Lebanon, NH with my go-to heme-team.<br />
I ran to Dr. O and Ellen, NP in NYC, again, for suspected graft vs. host of the bowel on Dec. 22 after I was sitting on the toilet day-in-and-day-out, feeling miserable, unable to eat, hypovolemic, passing out, being chased down and caught to save my life.<br />
Very dangerous.<br />
I was advised to see Dr. Edwin Alyea, my Dana Farber Doc, The Head of Transplant at Dana Farber, super-genius extrodinaire, to guide my gvhd are.<br />
He gave it to me. It was his problem.<br />
But the holidays, conferences, life, dont wait for anything, including my life threatening disease.<br />
I'd been put on 60 mg of prednisone, a standard dose of 1mg/1kg for GVHD of the bowel which was confirmed by colonoscopy/endoscopy.<br />
When that didn't work I was put on enterocort/budenoside, another 9 mg daily, to target the specific area of the colon I had inflammed. <br />
Nothing worked.<br />
Dr. A had me take immodium around he clock, and i began to eat again. I was still in a lot of pain, but felt like like I was coming around.<br />
However, with my body exhausted, no reseverves to survive.<br />
I started to lose consciousness. <br />
I started to wonder if this is what it felt like to die a slow, painful death.<br />
I'd stand and personalize it until one day X chased after me into the bathroom, which he'd seen J do a hundred times, and asked, "Now, was that an anyuerysm or an arrythmia?"<br />
"What the hell?" <br />
I thoiught to myself, awakening from my near-syncopal episode.<br />
After getting over the shock, ""Where'd you hear THAT?" I thouhgt I'd ask the question. They were finally beoming too much. It'd finally become too much on my little man. <br />
X had been havng a very strong reaction for a long time. My hearts breaksfor him.<br />
I;m so happ ywe've instilled in him muliple...... and I fell asleep.<br />
<br />
i think i was going to say a strong sense of empathy? or at least a good vocab?<br />
<br />
whatever, today i am improving. Dad, Denis Boivin, a lifelong friend and trooper and i ran to see dr. o at his new office on 60th st. and madison/fifth Ave. right accross from the central park zoo.<br />
Boo-RA.<br />
<br />
Ellen came in, took one look at me and confirms my fears: i need to be admitted, pronto. she began working on the admission.<br />
<br />
Thats when i passed out, flaccid, in my dad's arms: no 1500 pages of records from the past 6.5 yrs of trtmnt. i bought myself a full work up, at least, that's what i asked for... boo-ra.<br />
<br />
my liver was failing, my kidnys were failing, but i was alive!<br />
ive worried since then if i was going to die. i've floated in and out of consciousness, but i'm going to make it, hopefully for everyone, if not, for my family and God to finish God's work.<br />
<br />
Chemo may be revlomid or a study drug starting ASAP. <br />
Thats what's up. That was weeks ago.<br />
i just wasnted to be taken care of, and here i am. That was Jan. 24th. Today is Feb.3.</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-61456925168914581312012-02-03T01:35:00.000-05:002012-02-03T01:35:47.491-05:00Hillary Update from Vic<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">there is a miracle called friendship that dwells within the heart. <br />
<br />
<br />
and you don't know how it happens or when it gets its start...<br />
<br />
but the happiness its brings you always gives a special lift ,<br />
<br />
then you realize that friendship is gods precious gift. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
hi all<br />
<br />
I have been reading and praying a lot this week. Hillary had told me ten years ago that I should get out of Charlestown and sees the cities. I was perfectly happy being a country bumpkin. So she went to New York to spread her wings and learn about how other people live. Well this week I found out how many good friends we all have. I think we were visited by all races and nationalities that had 1 thing in common. They all care deeply about Hillary.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I don't know where to start this update, I can't sugar coat it anymore. We have seen a down turn in her health since December 11th when she started having bowel trouble. We went to her specialist in NY last week and we left his office in an ambulance. We have been at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for the last 8 days. Her condition is stable at best but she is very week. Her mind is still pretty sharp but her body is wearing out. Several issues have her down.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
1st the Hodgkins disease just keeps finding away to mutate and come back after every type of chemo they have given. Even after radiation the location just moved and came back. Then we tried the 2 different types of bone marrow transplants. Well the second one created a complication call Graff vs Host disease. (GVHD) That had caused problems with her eyes and lungs. Now it has taken over the kidney. We are testing to see if that is also affecting the liver. Meanwhile the cancer is back again for I believe the 14th time. Hillary's body has found away to beat 13 types of Chemo and drug treatments. Her body has found away to fight with her graffs cells too. How could a person so loving and friendly fight so hard. We keep telling her to fight this sickness but her body keeps fighting the cures!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I have a lot of things to tell you all about. How on the floor with 50+ beds everyone already knows Hillary as a celebrity. I watched her tonight make a doctor feel special. I watched as nurses are just amazed at what power she has to make friends and get them to open up about their lives not hers. I watched other cancer patience called in their Rabbi's, Greek orthodox priests after she had the Catholic Priest come in to pray with her and give her the Sacrament of the sick. I watched as many care givers come in and are inspired by her will, her personality and her positive attitude. We have been talking a lot about dying this week. We expect it is inevitable. But she is determined to live life the best way she can right to the last breathe. We have been here before and she has come back to prove us wrong. I hope and Pray that she can come up with another miracle. If anybody can it is Hillary. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Please keep us in your prayers. Please send Hillary an email note "Hillary St. Pierre" hillaryst_pierre@hotmail.com. I don't think she has any idea of how many people she has touched in a short lifetime<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Thank you all for being such good friends<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Vic, Nancy, Patrick and Grace, Preston, Pierce Heather and Allen, Xander, Jon and especially for Hillary<br />
<br />
</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-20136012883252535022012-02-01T11:12:00.000-05:002012-02-01T11:12:55.784-05:00Uptown Girl<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This is Hillary, reporting from 160th St. St; The Munstein Buiding at Columbia Presbytarian Hospital, uptown Manhattan.<br />
This is also the region known as Morningside Heights where, when I was in college, I researched the dichotomy of care received between the ten block walk from where I'm currently housed and Bronx-Lebanon Hospital.<br />
I'm happy to be on the south side, the good side.<br />
I was admitted a week ago yesterday after a routine clinic heck up with Dr. O'Connor (or so I thought) at his brand new office on 60th st, 108 blocks away, where i promprly had a "near syncopal " episode, and got myself a bed here.<br />
I'm not sure what has been getting onto the blog.<br />
My phone works sometimes; others it doesn't.<br />
Passing out, going flaccid in my father's arms wasn't anything either one of us was prepared for. It bought me a ticket in the ambulance here, which I desperately needed.<br />
The week has been testing and strengthening. <br />
My kidney stent was replaced at DHMC, but had all ready begun to fail due to the extreme dehrydration from the round-the-clock diarrhea.<br />
Sun. before we hightailed it to NYC I noticed severe swelling in my cankles. Can't even recognize them.<br />
By Tues the swelling had spread to my stomach.<br />
Weds. this was determined to be lymphadema or my cancerous lymph nodes swelling and draining with no where to go.<br />
Along with my kidneys failing, so isn't my liver, which controls clotting in the bodu; however, it's imperative to know if i have gvhd of the liver. This will effect the chemotherapy regimen.<br />
Revlomid, which I have on a standby, increases graft vs. host issues; the other one does not.<br />
I feel the sickest I've been in a long time, maybe ever. I am a two person assst to the bathroom, but I am not longer losing consciousness!!<br />
My clotting times and kidneys are the worst they've ever been. I really have begun to wonder if I'll die from this.<br />
I've promised to keep fighting for him forever, and that's what I plan on the doing.<br />
Last night, the nurses gave me fresh frozen plasma, a blog product, to assist in clotting, in prepaation for my biopsy.<br />
This am my PT/INR was 1.2 but my hemoglobin had fallen 2 pts to 8, probably dilutaional from adding fluids, but I can't risk bleeding.<br />
I'm getting a CT of my stomach to see if I'm bleeding there; pray something will go my way SOON. There are so many options!</div>Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-2071134990515758272012-01-31T15:06:00.000-05:002012-01-31T15:07:35.958-05:00Beginning skin breakdown<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShqrLuygvwTTeY9Zzv8_0ae5A23wQ-tAPn6A3ASFwuPPYRbeAqsHwuhUzDjwfLMNCaZlJa4ih_Y_BRgwvsVFf9ngwDnYCadl8x4Z0yIW1jQy3I9SK5onGigU-Jj5e2zFarPcedTWs5JmQ/s1600/%253D%253Futf-8%253FB%253FSU1HLTIwMTIwMTMxLTAwMDA4LmpwZw%253D%253D%253F%253D-755958"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShqrLuygvwTTeY9Zzv8_0ae5A23wQ-tAPn6A3ASFwuPPYRbeAqsHwuhUzDjwfLMNCaZlJa4ih_Y_BRgwvsVFf9ngwDnYCadl8x4Z0yIW1jQy3I9SK5onGigU-Jj5e2zFarPcedTWs5JmQ/s320/%253D%253Futf-8%253FB%253FSU1HLTIwMTIwMTMxLTAwMDA4LmpwZw%253D%253D%253F%253D-755958" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703890329055331778" /></a></p>AfterHillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-53995218499381559052012-01-30T04:34:00.001-05:002012-01-30T04:34:41.636-05:00Warning: Graphic<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtZSgXrmep_qVWQcWlp8hhMPmVb1JKBz_Es6XgjyHDk-U3KIn2GJcSeDgPapT8IKy4yBTceJj8wUZmHxJ3XT8mVhSs0Xa0fxDRSuEC4F08Xrc4kIWW0kViH37eL6OJLrc41mn1AsfDqWI/s1600/%253D%253Futf-8%253FB%253FSU1HMDAyMjItMjAxMjAxMjktMjMwNS5qcGc%253D%253F%253D-781637"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtZSgXrmep_qVWQcWlp8hhMPmVb1JKBz_Es6XgjyHDk-U3KIn2GJcSeDgPapT8IKy4yBTceJj8wUZmHxJ3XT8mVhSs0Xa0fxDRSuEC4F08Xrc4kIWW0kViH37eL6OJLrc41mn1AsfDqWI/s320/%253D%253Futf-8%253FB%253FSU1HMDAyMjItMjAxMjAxMjktMjMwNS5qcGc%253D%253F%253D-781637" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703356145636093506" /></a></p>I was admitted to O'Connor's treatment early am last Weds after a days of struggling. Admitted is strong. I'm giving it time. I was/am in rough shape. I still am. I knew if I didn't get to NY for treatment I may not survive. I was too weak. The swollen ankles are from lymphadenopathy or swollen lymphode. The swollen cancerous nodes in my thighs were found by doppler. My abdomen, which is distended beyond belief, has improved. The rest, well, it's there. These are the only sites of known disease.Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4880600350163850685.post-28494574301501344412012-01-29T07:24:00.001-05:002012-01-29T07:24:39.155-05:00The whole picture<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-z3BVRQzJdzI7nq8U1_R1BSCWIfFnvu9PxCDKC1uzWzMvhuVGMZHvVIoaX_4BMv7blIuWZ-lOjL5qTn3zAhcmd2VCVRBnFKLhphQUkQyH8S40K6LD6_QBltumPeRAwhssnOdok_hpApbq/s1600/%253D%253Futf-8%253FB%253FSU1HMDAyMTktMjAxMjAxMjgtMDcxNy5qcGc%253D%253F%253D-779155"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-z3BVRQzJdzI7nq8U1_R1BSCWIfFnvu9PxCDKC1uzWzMvhuVGMZHvVIoaX_4BMv7blIuWZ-lOjL5qTn3zAhcmd2VCVRBnFKLhphQUkQyH8S40K6LD6_QBltumPeRAwhssnOdok_hpApbq/s320/%253D%253Futf-8%253FB%253FSU1HMDAyMTktMjAxMjAxMjgtMDcxNy5qcGc%253D%253F%253D-779155" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5703028856509628594" /></a></p>Below the GW Bridge in the am, the bridge that crosses from the Bronx to Manhattan. As long as I remember, I always loved the silhouette of the skyline driving past as the sun rises or falls with it. It always seemed full of new possibilities, a whole new life, like entering a whole new world. Over the years the connotations and dreams have passed, grown, somehow changed, but the feelings have remained the same: the awestruck pattern of possibility ahead. It still exists. But I never thought I'd be a patient. Now, I am. I was admitted via ambulance after having a "near syncopal" episode (almost passing out) at my appt. With Dr. O tues. It was the clinic's first day with seeing patients. I made an impression for sure at the brand new lymphatic center on 60th and 5th. Gorgeous place but in the process of the moving, All records were being moved. It is Chinese New Year today. Canal st is having dragon dancers. I know x would love it. I had only come to nyc for a check up. I packed up three sets of hospital outfits. I had jewelry pieces, my hobbies. I kept obsessing over small hobbies to keep me busy. These are things I never do. Then I slept, a comatose sleep. I barely woke up to call NHPR regarding "obamacare," and what would happen if the ACA was federally overturned during my treatment, taking away the 2 million stipend for me to continue my care? The professional answer: they don't know.Hillary St. Pierrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14047012304987154704noreply@blogger.com2