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No More Kleenex® In Bras

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Drs. Rod Rohrich and Diane Gibby’s opened their fabulous estate Monday, February 24, to build awareness about AIRS. Known for refreshening some of Dallas’ most beautiful countenances, Rod stood on the steps of the entry hall joined by Dr. Jeff Kenkel, Morgan Hare and Janet Denlinger. Looking at the crowd of 125 fundraising types like Carol Seay, Sarah Martineau, Myrna and Bob Schlegel, Cara French, Ramona Jones, Julie Hawes, Morgan Safavi, Jimmy Westcott with Kameron and Court Westcott, Jeanne Marie Clossey and Nancy Duncan, it was hard to imagine there could be a new cause on their radar that they hadn’t already supported. But there was.

Janet Denlinger

Janet Denlinger

Morgan Hare

Morgan Hare

Court and Kameron Westcott and Jimmy Westcott

Court and Kameron Westcott and Jimmy Westcott

More about that later, though.

Back in the late 1950’s, a 37-year-old mother of three discovered a lump in her breast. This was a time before mammograms and sonograms. Chemo and radiation were still in their fine-tuning stages. So, the discovery meant a decision between two choices had to be made: Either do nothing and suffer to the end of the road, or hand over your body to surgeons, who hopefully would cut deeply enough to rid the body of the disease.

The husband was no stranger to the cruelty of breast cancer. As an OB/GYN, he had had patients who had called him in the middle of the night weeping about the importance of maintaining their breasts even at the cost of their lives.

But in this household, life trumped appearances. There was no hesitation. It was a surgeon’s scalpel. The children, all under 7  years of age, were sent to family friends for “a visit,” while their parents went through the surgery and days of recovery. The youngsters knew something was up. Adults would whisper to each other after calls from the father. Vague answers came in response to questions of their parents’ whereabouts.

Once the family reunited at their home, life had changed but subtly. Little things—like their mother hugging them, when it did happen, was brief.

The family visits to the community swimming pool were different. They would still load up the blue-and-white Buick with blow-up rafts and beach towels, but now the mother would no longer wear a swimsuit, shorts or even a sundress, no matter how hot it was. She would make excuses each time.

Then there was the day the daughter walked into her parents’ bedroom, where she saw her mother stuffing Kleenex® into her bra. The expression on the daughter’s face revealed confused surprise. There was no denying that an explanation was now needed. The mother smiled and said that the doctors had traded her a breast for her life, adding, “They even took my sweat glands, so I’m saving a lot of money on deodorant.” The woman and girl laughed. That brief conversation was the first and last time it was discussed for many years.

In 1970 a lump was found in the other breast. By this time there had been advances in handling the disease. But still no Komen, no Oprah, no support groups, no replacement for a lost breast.

As she recovered in her hospital bed from the removal of her second breast, the now middle-aged woman looked like a sparrow that had been slammed to the ground by the hand of God. But she said, “It was so much easier this time.”

Now her bras were double-dosing on Kleenex®.

It was in 2000 that the mother, who was now in her late 70s and suffering from dementia, was in the emergency room of a local hospital. Her daughter arrived and was directed to a room where the mother had been placed for examination. Upon entering the room, the now-middle-age daughter discovered that her mother had pulled off her gown and sheets. The vision of a parent’s bare body would have been startling for most children at any age. But to see a body scarred from dramatic but life-saving carving was overwhelming. Where once breasts had been was the ribcage tautly covered in scar-marked flesh. The area under her right shoulder had indeed been hallowed out. A large chunk of skin had been removed from her right thigh during the first surgery, but still the red scars remained fresh even after decades.

A nurse entered the room and quickly realized the shock of the scene. Without saying a word, she covered the woman’s ravaged body with a fresh sheet, but the patient didn’t notice. Perhaps it was because of the dementia, or perhaps she had just grown accustomed to seeing her devastated body in the mirror and didn’t care anymore.

This story is about a cruel disease that created incredible pain, confusion and emotional abuse for not just this one woman and her family, but countless others throughout the world.

The good news is that amazing advances have been made in detecting, treating and recovering from breast cancer. There are now support groups for patients and their families. There is reconstructive surgery that will allow patients to replace the damaged goods with beautiful healthy breasts. But this replacement has been limited due to cost and awareness.

Rod Rohrich

Rod Rohrich

This is where AIRS (Alliance in Reconstructive Surgery) comes in. As Rod, Jeff, Morgan and Janet explained, AIRS was established in 2012 “dedicated to providing women, around the world, access to reconstructive breast surgery to help restore their lives to normal.” The problem is letting women know that this service is available for those with limited funds. Evidently, “70% of those who would like to have it [reconstructive surgery] don’t have the insurance or other resources to cover it.”

For those who do have insurance, high deductibles can be problematic.

Jeff Kenkel

Jeff Kenkel

For Rod and Diane, the need to spread the word and make the surgery possible is personal. Rod recalled a woman telling him, “I just want to thank you for making me whole again.” And that is what the foundation is about, advocating so that “every woman has the ability to be whole again.” Rod suggested that some hospitals need a bit of nudging in this cause, but hastened to call Parkland “the best public hospital in America, despite what some newspapers say.”

Then Jeff told of a 38-year-old patient with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma that had been associated with breast implants. Due to treatments, she was left with a significant disparity between the left and right breasts. Health insurance wouldn’t approve the procedure. This situation is the type that the foundation would assist.

Thanks to AIRS, there will be no need to stuff tissue paper in bras.


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