 |
| Larry Bonney, 4, Captain Marvel |
 |
| Devin Hamilton, 9 Crestwood Avenue Elementary |
 | ||
| Camille Ferrante, 51, Lorraine's aunt |
 |
| Elizabeth Carter, 74, Lorraine's mother |
 |
| Ryan Rossi, musician 27 |
 | |
| Mark Vasquez, 36, Manhattan Beach Police | Officer |
The Six Faces of Cancer: A Longshore Woman's Loss of Mom and Aunt to Aggressive Blood Cancers Drives Her To Put on A Concert At Warner Grand To Raise A Pretty Penny For Research
By Diana L. Chapman
First her aunt went, dying in 1996 of an
aggressive leukemia within two years of the
diagnosis at age 51. Her niece, Lorraine Shea, didn't know much about cancer
then and felt helpless.
Then Lorraine's mom went in 2010, dying
within four months from a different form of the savage disease at age 74. Now
Lorraine knows more about blood cancers than she ever wanted to know and can
tick off stats such as "every ten minutes someone dies of blood cancer."
After the loss of her mother, Shea, 49,
found herself traveling across the Vincent Thomas bridge from her longshoring
job, feeling routinely angry, devastated and robbed. Every day, at 5 p.m. she
had called her mom, Elizabeth Carter, while driving over the bridge -- a
pleasure that she no longer had.
"I hate cancer more than anything
else," Shea said, sometimes tears filling her eyes. "I want to help
other people beat cancer. This is my passion. It gives me purpose."
 |
| Lorraine Shea completes a run to help raise money for cancer research |
Her purpose was the whole point of ....
--the marathons
--the bowling tournaments
--the bake sales
Despite that she's been nominated as
"Woman of Year," for the society, it's not the title she's after;
it's the money needed to investigate ways to prevent the prolific serial
killer.
In her more recent events, Lorraine
already raised $20,000 toward her goal with the help of friends she met in Team
and Training, one arm of the society's fundraising efforts. The society
provides coaches to train volunteers how to run scheduled marathons as a way to
produce research funding. That's where Lorraine's dedication to the agency
began.
It started out small at first. Her first
goal was to raise $5,000 by completing the Disneyland half-marathon in 2011. It was a challenge. But she did it.
"I had never run a marathon or
anything like that," Lorraine said, adding when she crossed the finish
line "it was an amazing feeling. Every emotion came rushing in all at
once. I felt sad because it was all over but happy because it was over. I don't
think I'll ever have that feeling again."
Lorraine, however, wasn't satisfied with
her first fundraiser; the goal amount was too small and now she knew more and
more people afflicted with the often deadly illness. Anyone who wants to talk
to her about cancer can easily gain her ear and her heart. She's more than
interested now and says she has leaned on a team of about 15 women -- who
became friends with her when running the marathons -- stacking up their efforts to support her
mission called Unite to Fight Blood Cancers. She calls "my girls" "Team
Forzo" Italian for strength.
After she completed that half marathon,
she became a volunteer mentor working with other runners to compete in more Team
in Training marathons. Lorraine now loves to run. Her cheer leading efforts caught the eye of Whitney
Vanpelt, a campaign manager for the society who nominated Lorraine for the society's
Woman of the Year. Whitney has no doubts that Lorraine will actually raise that
much money.
"She was on my (running) team and
she got everyone so motivated," Whitney said. "She gets to know
everyone on the team. She's fun. She's hilarious. She's organized. She doesn't
give up. She just goes and goes and goes. She's been working really hard to
make a difference.
" She's like a thoroughbred. I
think she can do it."
The upcoming concert will honor six
people who have died from blood cancer.
They include: Larry Bonney, a four year
old who loved Captain America; Devin Hamilton, 10, a student at Crestwood
Avenue Elementary; Ryan Rossi, 27, a musician; Mark Vasquez, 36, a Manhattan
police officer; her aunt, Camille Ferrante, an avid golfer and production
assistant for Mattel, Inc. and her mother, Elizabeth Carter, a longtime
volunteer at Torrance Memorial Hospital.
"It's people who have touched my heart either directly or indirectly,"
Lorraine explained. "It's a diverse group. I think about how we are going
to end our time here. It's just mind boggling. The fact that I have a purpose to
help people I've never met makes me feel good."
Those whose loved ones will be noted at
the concert said they appreciate and respect Lorraine's efforts.
Jenny Bonney, who lost her little guy at
the age of three, two days before his fourth birthday, described an enthusiastic boy who loved
Captain America, but began having terrible stomach aches. He was routinely
misdiagnosed with anything from rheumatoid arthritis to meningitis before the
family learned he had leukemia and the doctors told them "there's no next
step" to save him.
Before he died, Larry told his mother he
felt better and that "Jesus kissed my feet last night."
Jenny said it's a beautiful gesture that
Larry is included in the concert who also was "a mascot" for one of
Lorraine's bowling events. "Sometimes, we're just still in shock."
Devon Hamilton's grandmother, Mary Martinez, lauded Shea's decision saying losing Devon at the age of nine broke the hearts of everyone that knew her.
"This concert humanizes our loved
ones once again," the grandmother said. "Family members will be there
supporting the cause to find a cure. For many of us, it's already too late. But
this is to someday find the cure and save the lives of our future doctors,
dancers, mothers, friends."
No family touched with blood cancer is
unscathed.
Lorraine describes tortuous days as the
end neared for her mother, diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare form
of the cancer. She blesses the fact that before illness she took her mother to
New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Orlando, Mexico and Italy. In Vegas, her
mother always happily won at Blazing Sevens slot machines, she said.
But on their return trip from New York, Lorraine
and her brother, Alfred Davino, noticed
their mother had slowed down and deep colored bruises, some the size of
grapefruits, began appearing on her body. She was no longer interested in food.
Then she had dental work done and the dentist couldn't staunch the blood flow.
Doctors at Torrance Memorial -- who knew
Elizabeth well as a volunteer - found her white blood count "twenty
times" greater than it should be. Before the diagnosis, Elizabeth had told
her kids that she dreaded wheeling patients to chemotherapy ward and that she
never wanted to be rolled through that door. Now, she was facing the of fight
of her life there, one that would go on for about four months. Chemotherapy.
Remission. Chemotherapy.
Instead of thinking about herself when
she was hospitalized, Elizabeth puttered to
get the doctors and staff their meals,
snacks, make them coffee or run other helpful errands, Lorraine said.
On Thanksgiving 2010, her mother
relapsed and died on Dec. 1. Lorraine said she felt empty, cold and wondered if
she had been a good enough daughter. "It was hell for me," she said.
Many oncologists and nurses showed up
for Elizabeth's funeral. "They loved her," Lorraine said.
But all Lorraine had left afterward was
a gaping emotional hole -- one that her purpose has since begun to fill with
light and happiness -- and money to defeat
one of the world's biggest killers.
Now Lorraine can grin and say if her
mother were here, Elizabeth would once again be calling her "an
octopus" for all her involvement and good deeds she had shed on the world.
The Unite to Fight Blood Cancers Concert
will be held at 5 p.m. February 9th showcasing bands like One World, Azure and
One Ten South. A silent auction will also be held. General admission is $20 a
ticket; VIP seating $30. Tickets sold at the door will cost $25. Tickets can be
bought at experiencesp.com. The Warner Grand is located at 478 6th Street, San
Pedro. For more information, call (657) 210-cure or visit
http://www.unite2fightbloodcancers.org.
