By Caitlin Carmody, Rush Medical Center, Aurora, Ill.
Being optimistic helps Jerri Lynn Baker go through her day-to-day life. When the 66-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer, she wanted to keep that positive outlook.
After hearing about a friend’s experience at Waterford Place in Aurora, Jerri Lynn did some initial research into its offerings. “My friend told me that I would enjoy being there,” Jerri Lynn said.
Waterford Place is open to anyone who has been affected by cancer, at no charge to participants. It offers a wide variety of services, such as support and wellness programs.
Jerri Lynn was most intrigued by the walking club and art classes. So she decided to check it out.
“I’m glad my friend kept telling me to go, because I’ve been able to try so many new things,” Jerri Lynn said.
She enjoys attending art and boxing classes and the walking club. Every program that Jerri Lynn goes to allows her to meet people who are going through a similar experience and a new endeavor.
“I’m not a great artist, but for me it’s about trying something and just having fun. I really love everything I do there,” she said.
Jerri Lynn has since become a volunteer leader for the walking club, allowing her to build relationships and become a role model for others.
In Waterford Place, Jerri Lynn has found a community.
“At Waterford we see each other,” she says, “and I don’t need to feel invisible.”
In 2019, she presented “My Freakin 365+1,” her chronicle of life after cancer, at a Sons of Norway Polar Star Lodge 5-472’s meeting at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Montgomery.
After a luncheon, Baker, lodge sports director, spoke about how she lives each day to its fullest, or pretty close, years after her 2004 cancer diagnosis. She told how she did something new every day for a year, stopped focusing on death and started seeking joy in the little things.
Waterford Place Cancer Resource Center offers services and support, at no cost to participants, to anyone affected by a cancer diagnosis. Waterford Place is a community program of Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora.