Published: 09/27/2007
Port police, NHL rally to help sick mom
By Angeljean Chiaramida
Staff writer
SALISBURY - Wendy Pleau spent her adult life caring for her children
and her husband. Now, her daughter Shannon Pleau Nolan said, it's the
family's turn to care for her, as she wages the fight of her life
against non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
On Monday, Nolan - a Salisbury Elementary School teacher - wants
hundreds of people to turn out for a marrow drive running from 3 to 7
p.m. at Salisbury Elementary School. Her hope is, the painless and
quick mouth-swab test will find a stem cell donor match for her
59-year-old mother, who's battling her second bout with non-Hodgkins
lymphoma since Thanksgiving 2006.
"My mother supported me and my brother and my dad all our lives," Nolan
said yesterday. "It's time we supported her. When I heard the doctors
(in St. Louis, Mo.) said she might need another stem cell transplant, I
said, 'OK, we're going to have a marrow drive right here."
With the cooperation of school officials, the help of the Rocco family
of Newburyport and sponsorship by the Newburyport Police Association,
the marrow drive became a reality.
"The Pleau family lived right across the street from my family on
Turkey Hill Road in Newburyport," said Christine Rocco, whose father,
Richard, is a retired Newburyport policeman, and whose brother Richard
Jr. is currently a Newburyport policeman. "That's how our families got
so close. They moved away to Connecticut before Shannon was born, but
every summer - every summer - they'd come back to their house at
Seabrook Beach."
Moving around a bit was a sign of Larry Pleau's talent and career
choice. At first a professional hockey player for the Hartford Whalers,
Larry is now the general manager of the St. Louis Blues hockey team.
Living just outside St. Louis in Chesterfield during the hockey season,
the draw of the New England coast is still strong. Not only does the
family return to Seabrook Beach each summer, but Larry Pleau is the
owner of Salisbury's Bridge Marina.
Being far away from her mother is difficult, but Nolan tries to get to
Missouri at least once a month. Last summer, Nolan traveled to her
mother's bedside every weekend during the first stem cell transplant.
That time finding stem cells was easy, Nolan said, for doctors
harvested her mother's own stem cells for the transplant. During the
transplant, Wendy got an infection, which is serious for those
undergoing transplant therapy. Cured once, the infection returned, and
Wendy has been in the hospital fighting it since Labor Day. Doctors
said because of the recurrence and because Wendy's red blood cell count
is still low, she may need another stem cell transplant.
"But they don't have any more of my mother's stem cells," Nolan said. "That's why we need to find a donor."
The recurrence of a lift-threatening infection is bad enough, but Wendy
actually had to fight two types of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Diagnosed
with non-Hodgkins lymphoma Burkitt's before Christmas 2006, Wendy
fought the aggressive type of lymphoma with equally aggressive
chemotherapy.
"Larry equated it to the Stanley Cup playoffs, and we would win in the
end," Wendy wrote in her online journal. "After many experiences, which
right now I don't really want to remember, we were successful."
After her first ordeal, the Blues gave Wendy a replica of the Stanley
Cup, something she'll treasure forever, she wrote in her journal.
But two months after, a CAT scan showed another non-Hodgkins lymphoma
tumor. Although it was not Burkitt's, doctors decided to fight the new
tumor with chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell transplant, a
daunting regime. It would mean not making it back to Seabrook Beach
over the summer, but the goal was worth it, Wendy Pleau wrote.
"The beach was so near, now so far, but we had to look at the good
news," Wendy wrote in her journal. "The doctors are doing everything to
give me the best chance to run on the beach again."
Nolan said that through all of the fear, pain, trials, recurrences and
disappointments, her mother remains positive. Part of that is due to
her mother's positive nature, and part is due to her father's loving
care.
"My dad makes sure she never gets down," Nolan said.
Rocco believes the Wendy she remembers when she was a child is a woman of charity, spirit, fight and optimism.
"Wendy was always doing things for others. She'd do anything for us,"
Rocco said. "She always found a way for Shannon and I to be together,
no matter how hard it was. And she was never without a smile on her
face. Even if we did something bad, she had a smile on her face."
Marrow Drive for Wendy Pleau
Salisbury Elementary School (100 Lafayette Road - Route 1)
Student cafeteria, 3 to 7 p.m.
To read Wendy Pleau's online journal visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/wendypleau
To learn more about becoming a donor and stem cell transplants, visit www.marrow.org
To contact Shannon Pleau Nolan, call 603-679-3321 or e-mail her at slpleau@hotmail.com
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