Smoke signals., July 15, 2011, Page 9, Image 9

Smoke Signals 9
JULY 15, 2011
Sheridan holding First
Wednesday event
Sheridan will be holding a Community Yard Sale for its First Wednes
day event from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3.
Residents are encouraged to clean out their garage or set up a booth to
sell their arts and crafts. People can register for a 10-by-10-foot space to
sell whatever they'd like as long as it is legal for $5 per space.
For more information or to register, contact Kim Greene at 503-434-05472
or Hawley Vining at 503-913-8338, or send an e-mail to
firstwednesdayhotmail.com.
There also is a Facebook page at "First Wednesday, Sheridan,
Oregon."
dank setts powwow
Lakota Oyate Ki, the Native inmate club at the Oregon State Peniten
tiary in Salem, is sponsoring its annual powwow on Saturday, Aug. 6,
from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
People interested in participating in the powwow need to RSVP by no
later than Friday, July 29.
To confirm participation, e-mail, call or mail your request to Bill Marion
at the Oregon State Penitentiary at Bill.F.Mariondoc.state.or.us, 503-378-2289
or 2605 State St., Ore., 97310. D
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Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal member Brandy Starmer takes her hairpiece off of the mannequin
head to put on as she gets ready recently in the room that her and her mother
and Tribal member Tonya stayed In for six weeks at the Inn at Marquam Hill
bed and breakfast in Portland.
BRANDY continued
from front page
back in Portland for more chemo
therapy and radiation treatments
in a month.
The disease has wreaked havoc
with Brandy's young life, but her
family is behind her all the way.
Brandy has a positive outlook
and an electric smile. She was un
able to finish her freshman year at
Wallowa Junior-Senior High School
before the operation, and now faces
an uncertain future, depending on
what happens next.
As a freshman, she had an assign
ment on "Romeo and Juliet," she
said at the Tribe's Portland satel
lite office before she left for home,
which every freshman in her school
had to complete. For the class, the
students develop a book filled with
"Romeo and Juliet" information like
their family trees and what their
closets might have looked like.
Brandy called her book, "A love
worth dying for," but because of
the disease, the project never was
finished.
She also likes shop work. "I was
building a jewelry box and a cut
ting board," she said, but one of the
sanders she needed broke down.
She played basketball and soccer,
and loved hip-hop dancing.
Depending on the course of the
disease, she could get back to all of
it. Risks remain, however. She is
fighting balance issues and is tired
all the time. The doctors don't know
yet whether the treatments will
cost Brandy part or all of her vision
and hearing. There is a whole list
of unknown outcomes.
Medical treatment is expected to
continue on and off for five years.
At the same time, her family is
struggling to keep up with dozens of
aspects of her treatment at Doern
becher Children's Hospital. Tonya
has a book six inches thick in which
she keeps track of medications, medi
cal instructions, Brandy's appetite,
appointments, doctors, nurses, social
service workers and the countless
tasks required for managing the
disease and its side effects.
"The information could fill a room
and you remember this much,"
Tonya said, holding her thumb and
first finger close to touching. "You're
overwhelmed and you forget things.
And when you remember some
thing, like something Brandy has
to do, you feel like a nag. It's kind
of a vicious cycle."
"Her last healthy weight," said
Tonya, "was 105 pounds last De
cember." That weight fell to 92, and
at one point Brandy did not seem
to care about eating or anything
else. But day to day now, her ap
petite seems to be returning and it
is a blessing, they both know, that
Brandy has discovered new crav
ings for Wendy's chocolate frosties,
Chinese food and french fries.
The disease also is wreaking
havoc with the family's day-to-day
life back in Wallowa. Father Craig
continues to work supporting home
life expenses, and the family was
barely making those ends meet
before the operation. Now, it's on
the family's shoulders to fund the
medical side of things, including
expenses of a second household in
Portland, too.
In the turmoil, Brandy's brother,
Travis, 18, also a Tribal member,
had to put off plans for college. He
has, however, landed a job that may
lead to an apprenticeship program
in a machine shop, Tonya said.
Brandy cried while talking about
her brother. It was when she said
she hadn't seen much of him since
the treatments began.
"Travis is like we all were when
we heard the news," said Tonya.
"Really sad and scared. Brandy
wishes he was still at home."
To make matters worse, Tonya had
to give up her job as a bus driver to
care for Brandy. They now have the
added stress of not knowing where
money will come from for countless
foreseen and unforeseen expenses.
The Tribe has provided fund
ing and services for the family,
but costs and needs continue to
mount.
State and federal funds only kick
in once Brandy reaches 18.
"I would like to see the Tribe have
a cancer fund for Tribal members,"
said Tonya.
"For people 15 years old," said
Brandy. "It would be a good thing
to have a house and car here in the
city for Tribal members like us. If
that's the only thing I could ever
do for our Tribe, to help others in
this situation, it would be to create
a cancer fund."
When the family receives dona
tions, which they have, they have
no local bank account in which to
put the funds, and are not sure of
tax implications if they were to
open an account for financial gifts
they receive.
"The last thing we need is a big
bill on our taxes," said Tonya.
There are perhaps experts who
could help sort out these issues, and
the Starmer family has seen the an
gels come down to help, but the fam
ily remains on the financial edge.
Friends, Josh and Christy Larm of
Mt. Angel, lent Tonya and Brandy
a car during their stay in Portland.
"They're our angels in Mt. Angel,"
said Tonya.
The Eugene-based Angel Hair
Foundation has provided Brandy
with a "hair system" as it does state
wide for cancer and alopecia (an
autoimmune disease that causes
hair loss) patients throughout Or
egon. The group has suggested that
Brandy might play a part in their
annual fundraiser, called "Shall We
Dance," and modeled after the real
ity show "Dancing With the Stars,"
said Deborah L. Wright, president
of the foundation.
"I think Brandy has a wonderful
personality and I hope she can be
involved," said Wright.
"There are a lot of people we've
met along the way that are 100
percent compassionate and doing
all they can to help," said Tonya.
She mentioned Tribal member
and Portland office Tribal Services
Representative Lisa Archuleta.
"Since the very first moment she
met us, she had her heart open and
her arms open to us to help."
Tonya also named Mike Watson,
owner of the bed and breakfast
where they've been staying during
treatments in Portland.
"With his compassion for Brandy
and I, I'm sure it made a difference
in the outcome. He provided a real
loving home environment for us."
The "wonderful people" at Doern
becher's Radiation Department,
Tribal member Melody Baker,
Contract Health Services represen
tative for the Tribe, "who helped so
much when we were at home, when
we were afraid to come back here."
Thanks also go to Micki Vander
Linden, nurse case manager at In
novative Case Management.
"So many have helped. We're
grateful to all, mentioned or not,"
said Tonya.
With the stress and sadness come
some silliness, too, said Brandy and
Tonya.
"We do a lot of laughing at the
dumb stuff," said Tonya.
Brandy's hair is just starting to
come back. She said that the wind
in her hair tickles as they drive.
"And I'm going, 'What hair?' "
says Tonya.
Before all this, Brandy had 2020
vision. There was a time, though,
when she started seeing double.
"We joked that her vision was
4040," said Tonya.
"I always considered myself a
fighter," said Tonya. "I feel like a
lion trying to protect her cub. I've
always thought, where there's a
will, tare's a way, but sometimes
now, I'm reevaluating that."
Meanwhile, out of the blue, Bran
dy takes opportunities to be silly.
When she goes to restaurants now,
she tells the waitress, "Thank you.
Come again!"
To help the Starmer family, con
tact Tonya at 541-263-0278. B