Ex-teacher has incurable disease
By Bronwyn Turner
GALVESTON — Cheryl Roy was a busy Ball High School teacher when shortness of breath sent her to the doctor in 2004.
“My symptoms were mild, and it did not affect my life,” the mother of two said.
Four years and a lung biopsy later, Roy would be diagnosed with a mysterious lung disease, one without treatment or cure.
Early this year, her condition worsened, bringing the constant need for oxygen and massive upheaval to a well-ordered life.
“In a matter of less than a year, I went from a teaching career, riding my horse and hauling bags of feed as well as bales of hay, to having to quit teaching and give my horse away,” Roy wrote.
She often communicates by e-mail these days because she needs to save her breath.
“Outwardly, I look healthy, until you notice the nasal cannula and oxygen,” she said. “I’m tethered to a 50-foot hose at home, constantly caught in it, tripping over it, tangled up in it.”
The disease itself tangles up her lungs. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis — IPF — causes scarring, stiffening and thickening in the lungs, slowing the oxygen feed to vital organs. The word idiopathic means the disease arose spontaneously from an unknown cause.
“I had never heard of it before my diagnosis,” said Roy, 62, who taught 25 years at Ball High School, most recently in a career preparation work program.
“I am going public with my challenges hoping to improve the outlook for those who follow.”
Her mission is to draw attention to the disease that claims 40,000 lives annually, a number matching the statistics for breast cancer victims.
Actor Marlon Brando, singer Robert Goulet and daredevil Evel Knievel all battled IPF and lost.
“It’s kind of like an invisible little killer,” Roy said.
The only true treatment is a lung transplant. Roy has been on the list at Methodist Hospital Transplant Center in Houston since May 18.
She wears a pager, keeps a bag packed and her family on speed dial, including sons Michael and James, who both work for the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office.
“I wait and try to breathe,” Roy wrote.
Daily, she doles out energy to coordinate repair work on her house damaged by Hurricane Ike and to manage medical matters.
“I always considered myself an independent, get-things-done, ready-to-go person,” she wrote. “Now, my family is having to help take care of me. As I see my sons and daughter-in-law step up to help me, it fills me with pride, love and gratefulness.”
“It is taking a village to help me through this.”
The Galveston County Citizen Sheriff’s Academy Alumni Association has hosted two fundraisers and will be working with the Ball High Student Council on a third event — a spaghetti dinner/silent auction Sept. 9 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Ball High Cafeteria, 4115 Ave. O, Galveston.
The following week, Sept. 11-18, is National Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week.
Roy hopes the events will shine a light on a hidden disease, one that could number her days.
“I do not concentrate on the things I can no longer do, but cherish those that I can still do,” she wrote.
“I remember that, each day is a gift.”
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At A Glance
WHAT: 2010 National Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Week
WHEN: Sept. 11-18
DETAILS: Draw attention to the disease that leads to the deaths of 40,000 people a year and also to push for passage of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act to establish a national patient registry, advisory board and education program.
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How To Help
• Spaghetti Dinner/Silent Auction, sponsored by the Ball High School Student Council and the Galveston County Citizen Sheriff’s Academy Alumni Association, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Ball High Cafeteria, 4115 Ave. O, Galveston. Dinner tickets are $6. Proceeds will benefit the Cheryl Roy lung transplant fund. Tickets can be purchased by calling Karen Olive, 409-761-0524, or Tammy Harper, 713-724-8250, or at the door.
• Donations can be made to the Galveston County Sheriff’s Academy Alumni Association in Cheryl Roy’s name.
