COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • OCTOBER 17, 2018 •
CANCER
from A10
all kinds of not pleasant aspects
of it and my husband never
wavered, he emptied drains,
washed my hair. I never felt any
need for any other kind of sup-
port group.
When I was diagnosed, I had
my gynecologist, my surgeon,
the plastic surgeon and the on-
cologist and none of them talked
to each other so it was a circus.
Now, they have patient man-
agers who step in and coordi-
nate all this stuff with the doc-
tors so my advice would be,
take someone with you to every
appointment once you’re diag-
nosed because you’re so stunned
by the diagnosis that you don’t
take it all in.
“Th e one thing I would say
is, I feel very lucky. I have sur-
vived. Even more so than in
1996, breast cancer is not a death
sentence because there’s lots of
treatments.
“It’s come a long way. If you’re
diagnosed don’t panic.”
BOARD
from A1
Th e school board off ered
praise for Sullivan and the
work that he has done in the
time he has been here so far
while also reiterating that they
are not trying to rush the work
they are doing.
“Th is process has helped us
Editor’s note: Th is interview
was edited for length and clar-
ity. If you or someone you know
would like to share your breast
cancer story with Th e Sentinel,
please email cmay@cgsentinel.
com.
11A
see that the work we do both
as a board and a district takes
time. Dr. Sullivan is providing
leadership and guidance as we
work to shape our school dis-
trict for the future,” read part
of a statement the board put
out aft er the meeting. “Th e
board is excited to work with
Dr. Sullivan through the chal-
lenges ahead this school year
and into next.”
Sullivan’s salary will be re-
visited at a later meeting.
"Th e board and Dr. Sullivan
are eager to engage with staff ,
parents and community to
ensure that our students have
a safe and caring learning en-
vironment where all can suc-
ceed," the statement read.
Th e board will begin their
search for a superintendent in
2019.
freedom and more autonomy
over where he is in the world.
Because he doesn’t have a lot of
autonomy over where he is.”
On a mission to get the chair
repaired, Swearengin was un-
able to get in contact with the
company that makes the chair
but found the next best thing:
Chris Medina.
Medina, a friend and the
engineering and technolo-
gy teacher at Cottage Grove
High School, would be able
to get the job done. Medina
also teaches students robotics
and how to make electric cars
and he sought the help of his
students to get the chair opera-
tional once more.
“Th e kids went through this
and checked things out to see
what was right with it and
what was wrong with it. What
we had to change and then we
found that a few things had
to be done to it, we did those
repairs and were able to get it
back in a pretty quick turn-
around time,” said Medina.
A trio of senior boys from
Cottage Grove High School
— Oden Armstrong, William
Keedy and Jackson Simmons
— worked on the project to
make sure it can “survive an
elementary school.”
“We spent the last couple
of weeks just trying to do as
much as we can with it. Try to
make it work as best as possi-
ble for him,” said Armstrong.
“It really puts a smile on
your face to see him be able to
move around freely and just
have the time of his life,” added
Simmons.
Trick or Treat on Main Street
Wednesday, October 31
STUDENT
from A1
little bars were starting to lose
their bolts. So he didn’t get to
play in it much last year be-
cause of that,” said Harrison
teacher Amy Swearengin who
taught Ethan last year. Add-
ing that the chair will, “give
him more mobility and more
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