October 29, 2009

 

WATKINS GLEN --- We've heard it time and time again - one of the best ways to get through a tough time is with the help of friends and family.
     But one local woman battling the fight of her life has even gained the support of complete strangers.  
     It’s called the Give a Hug Club.
     Local quilters come together to make a quilt for a person who needs a little extra support.
     As soon as they heard Kristina Burke’s story, they started sewing.
     “I was 37 weeks pregnant and I found out that I had stage two breast cancer and everything was kind of whirlwind,” Kristina Burke said.
     About eight months ago, 32-year-old Kristina Burke felt an unusual lump in her breast.
     By the time her son was born about two months later, the lump had doubled in size.
     “I delivered Kristopher on May 6th and five days later I had a port inserted and started my first round of chemo,” Burke said.
     Kristina went through six rounds of heavy dose chemotherapy.
     Even with a positive attitude and a strong spirit, she couldn't ignore a mother's biggest fear.
     “Not being around for my kids, not being able to watch them graduate from high school,” Burke said.
     And then the physical reality of cancer kicked in.
     Kristina started losing handfuls of hair.
     “After a week of going through this, of bathing and showering and seeing all the hair fall out, I said, ‘ok mom its time, you have to just shave it,’” Burke explained.
     The lump did shrink with chemotherapy, but doctors found other cancerous cells in Kristina’s breast and one in her sternum.
     “I just kind of take it one day at a time and enjoy my kids.”
     Meanwhile, Sue Knapp, owner of O'Susannah's Quilt Shop in Watkins Glen and creator of the Give a Hug Club, made an easy decision - Kristina needed a hug.
     She got a quilt last month.
     “You know that your not alone in this fight, you don't know who is out there thinking of you and where they come from,” Burke said. “It's a great feeling and makes you feel better.”
     Knapp started the Give a Hug Club after she went through a tough time in her own life.
    She says it really helps to know there are people pulling for you.
     “We are doing this for the long run,” Knapp said. “I would like to think well run out of people that need a hug but I don't think that's going to happen.”
     Kristina is scheduled for a double mastectomy November 9th to reduce the 40 percent chance the cancer will return.