ON THE COVER

Nurse, Mother, Triathlete, Survivor: THE INDOMITABLE SARAH SHEA By Sarah Tietje-Mietz

“ I had no health history.

I was fine. I did triathlons.

I was, you know, invincible,” said Shea. “ And then I felt a lump.”

Halloween is a chance for children to take on the guise of anything they dream of, from the natural to the supernatural, but it’s not often these costumes foretell a child’s future career. For Syracuse local Sarah Shea, it was. And her mother has the photos of young Shea - costumed as a nurse - to prove it.

“I always dressed up as a nurse, for years straight!” Shea said.

“I wanted to be a nurse and I just followed my dreams.”

Shea is a life-long resident of the Syracuse-area. She grew up in the Westhill area and attended Bishop Ludden Junior-Senior High School, and now lives in the West Genesee area. Shea stayed local to pursue a degree at St. Joseph’s College of Nursing, then went on to work at St. Joseph’s Hospital following graduation. After more than 20 years spent working in the operating room, Shea took a position with Vascular Surgeons of Central New York. This let her trade the more chaotic hours of the OR for a regular Monday-throughFriday schedule, something this mom of three called “a blessing in disguise.”

As a single parent, the relationship Shea has with her three sons is incredibly important to her.

Her oldest, who is fifteen, has thoughts of joining the military to fly drones for the Air Force. At 14, her middle son - whom she hopes will pursue a path in engineering - can “put anything together and fix anything.” Of her youngest son, she says he is just out there, loving life the way only an 11-year-old can.

Shea lights up when speaking of her boys, the love and pride she has for them so evident in her expression. These months of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent social distancing regulations have been hard for them all, and she jokes that with the extra down time, the boys have been “eating her out of house and home.”

Shea gives so much of herself to her children, and as a nurse, she does the same for her patients, giving generously of her time, her care, and her heart. What makes her work so deeply rewarding is being able to help someone heal and to give them more time with their family and loved ones. Being a nurse is not a job for Shea. It is her calling.

Nursing is the type of occupation that can take an emotional toll, and Shea acknowledges that one of the most difficult aspects of her job is when she knows she is going to lose a patient, despite everything she and the medical team has done. “You cry after it’s all done. You cry... but if a nurse stops crying, they should get a different profession,” said Shea when asked how she deals with this emotional weight.

While undergoing cancer treatments, Sarah Shea leaned heavily on the love and support of her three sons: Benjamin, 14, Joshua, 11, and Zachary, 15. “But I love it…I love the patients and I love helping them.”

Somehow, Shea’s roles as a nurse and a parent have not overwhelmed her life. Outside the home and the hospital, she found time to train and compete in the multisport-races known as triathlons.

With a small group of friends, Shea dedicated up to four days a week to training in the sports of biking, running and swimming to prepare for these competitions. Of the three, biking is by far her favorite– the wind in her hair making her feel like she is flying. Shea admits to not being the fastest competitor, but she knows she has the endurance to outlast most people.

Becoming a triathlete made her feel invincible. Shea has competed in multiple local triathlons, though has had to put training and competing on hold. One of her favorite races is the Gillie Girl Triathlon in Camillus. In this annual event, participants run a 5k (3.1 miles) a half-mile swim, and a 14-mile bike ride, raising funds for the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund. When Shea competed in this race in 2015, she could not have imagined that she would later be fighting the same cancer she raced to raise money for.

In the summer of 2019, while giving herself a home breast examination, Shea felt something.

“I had no health history. I was fine. I did triathlons. I was, you know, invincible,” said Shea. “And then I felt a lump.”

On July 23, her birthday, Shea underwent minor surgery to find out what the lump was. Soon after, she received her diagnosis – breast cancer. Specifically, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC).

The website www.breastcancer.org describes IDC as a cancer “that has broken through the wall of the milk duct and begun to invade the tissues of the breast.” It is one of the most common forms of breast cancers, making up 80 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses.

None of the training or her work in the medical field prepared her for this, and hearing her doctors and nurses talk about her diagnosis was like listening to another language.

“I felt completely uneducated and ignorant. I could tell you everything about your aorta and your veins and your arteries in your heart,” Shea said. “I didn't know anything about cancer. It was all new to me. It was scary.” She admits doing exactly what she instructs her own patients not to do – turning to the internet for answers.

Her doctors proceeded with a lumpectomy, a breast-conserving surgery that targets the removal of just the cancerous tumor and surrounding tissue. It was around this time that Shea reached out to friend and local doctor, Kara Kort. Shea holds Kort in special esteem, crediting her as both a remarkable physician and a “strong, amazing bad-ass.” A general surgeon with extensive experience in breast surgery, Kort was able to provide Shea with insight and comfort, especially when Shea learned the first lumpectomy was not successful in clearing the cancer from her breast.

It was important for Shea to speak with her sons honestly after receiving her diagnosis. She sat them down and explained to them what it meant for her to have cancer and how they were going to get through it, together. They have been her cheerleaders throughout this, helping with housework and taking care of each other. Continued on page 22 Photo by Alice G. Patterson

Her parents, who are still local, were an additional support system for her during her treatments, hosting the boys for sleepovers or coming to their rescue when they forgot their housekeys.

The surgeries and treatment for her cancer were not easy, yet the hardest part for Shea was the waiting – for results, for procedures, for follow-ups, for answers. From first feeling the lump on June 10, 2019, to the first surgery in July and the first and second lumpectomy, then the chemotherapy, everything became a practice in patience.

In February this year, Shea finally received the “all-clear” results she’d been hoping for. Though physically feeling aged beyond her 44 years, she is optimistic about the future and thankful for the outpouring of love and support throughout everything.

Of all the support received by Shea, the most surprising and humbling was the fundraising benefit orchestrated by good friend and fellow nurse Michelle DiMatteo Turtschin. Both attended the same nursing program and have maintained a friendship spanning two decades. Shea is as dear to Turtschin as her own sisters, and it was this closeness that prompted her to pull together the community for the October 6, 2019 event SARAH STRONG: Benefit For Sarah Shea's Battle With Breast Cancer at the Wildcat Sports Pub in Camillus.

“Sarah's the type of person – you don't forget her,” said Turtschin. “And I thought, you know, I can't make the cancer go away, but if I can do anything at all to ease any of this burden, that's what I want to do.”

The ticketed event included a silent auction, raffles, food, and family-friendly games. Over 100 people from the community showed up and the funds raised from the event went directly to Shea and her family. The donated money meant Shea did not have to worry about her bills throughout her treatment, which was a considerable weight off her shoulders. The support Shea and her family received from her friends, her job, her community, even her sons’ schools in the West Genesee School District, made a huge impact on her. Talking about it, she tears up, shaking her head in wonder at how much was done for her in her time of need.

The last thing Shea expected to deal with coming out of the other side of cancer was a global pandemic. “I remember I was like ‘I survived cancer for this?’ Like, I literally survived all of that to not be able to do anything,” said Shea. “I felt like I was waiting to live.” Despite the social restrictions stemming from COVID-19, Shea has found ways to enjoy her life. She and her sons enjoy getting takeout from area restaurants, and she continues to be passionate about her job, which she kept during both the cancer treatments and the pandemic. Shea gives credit to everyone at Vascular Surgeons of CNY for their compassion and thoughtfulness throughout her treatments and recovery. Once COVID-19 travel restrictions are finally lifted, Shea has plans for an idyllic vacation with the boys, complete with oceanfront property and seafood cookouts on the beach.

The last year has undeniably been difficult for Shea, but it has left her with a new sense of independence and the feeling that if she can get through cancer, she can conquer anything. When asked how she viewed her experience surviving cancer, Shea was contemplative.

“I didn't choose this. It was given to me. And it was something I just had to deal with. Being strong, being courageous – I didn't choose to be all those things,” Shea said. “You just have to do what you have to do to get through the day. So I do think of it as a battle now, as I look back, because it was one hell of a year.” SWM

“I didn't choose this. It was given to me. And it was something I just had to deal with. Being strong, being courageous – I didn't choose to be all those things,” Shea said.