Linda is not only a nurse who spends every day at work as an advocate for childhood cancer survivors, but is the mother of a Leukemia Survivor. It takes a very special person to take a horrible situation and turn it into a life passion.
Linda's experience as mother of a patient fuels her dedication to survivors in her clinic. She gets it, literally, knowing not only the patient's daily struggles to transition to life after cancer treatment, a sense of normalcy, but also the parent's fears, frustration and financial hardship. She goes above and beyond in her clinic to advocate for families, by empowering them with the knowledge and tools to live life after cancer. We have made huge strides in curing our childhood cancer patients, however, we are learning daily how chemo, radiation, surgery and transplant have altered our survivors' lives. We are amazed in our P.O.S.T. clinic daily by our patients, their struggles and coping after treatment.
Linda created the P.O.S.T. Clinic (Pediatric Oncology Survivors in Transition) clinic 12 years ago. I have had the great fortune to know Linda, through my foundation, for the past 12 years, as well as a colleague/mentor/friend for the past 4 years. Back in 2004, Linda applied for grant funds to create a survivorship running program outside of her clinic to help survivors with self-esteem. Survivors and a friend or family member are partnered with a running mentor and together train for a 5K race (the P.O.S.T. 5K Challenge). I have attended trainings, as well as, completed the race with my family and it is such an amazing experience to see survivors complete the challenge. This year, Linda had her first blind survivor complete the race.
Linda's son has not had an easy road, complete with relapse, BMT, and kidney transplant, but Linda never quit. Her outlook on life is so positive, it is contagious. I worked at Children's Memorial for 18 years, and 4 years ago had the opportunity to run the P.O.S.T. clinic in Park Ridge. I could not wait to work with Linda and utilize my life experience as a nurse and survivor to help patients daily. She encouraged me to not give up on my dream and that you can help survivors even more by running a clinic. Linda has been a great mentor, helping me work collaboratively with all different healthcare providers and specialties that our patients may need.
Linda is in the survivorship trenches everyday with her patients and her son. She actively listens to her patient's needs, always going the extra mile to provide the best care possible and help her patients reach their fullest potential. Thank you, Linda, for all that you do.