Margaret "Peggy" Reichert
April 17, 1953 - January 1966
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| Peggy and her sisters |
Mary Jo is Peggy's sister and the mother of my friend, Karen.
Mary Jo shared these words:
Peggy was my older sister. She was the second oldest of five sisters. It was just after her 12th birthday and I was 10 years old when she was diagnosed with Bone Marrow Cancer. At first they thought she had “water on the knee.” They tried to extract the “water” but found it was a mass.
Peggy had to go in for surgery to explore and find out what was wrong. Her biggest fear was that she would come out of surgery with a cast and she didn’t want that. My parents were told that it was cancer and the best treatment was to amputate the leg as high up as possible to take all the cancer.
My mother spent some time with me after the birth of my first child and I asked her how she made it through those days. She said that when Peggy was coming out of the anesthesia they were supposed to be positive and smiling for Peggy, so she wouldn’t be scared. My mom said she walked down the hall toward Peggy’s room and would break down crying, so she’d go back and try again. It took several times, but she finally made it in the room.
Peggy was told they had to take the entire leg to get all the disease. She didn’t believe them because she could still feel her leg. Her nerves were still sending impulses to her brain telling her it was still there. Reality hit when they showed her.
When Peggy came home, she was on crutches with one leg. We waited a few months until she could get her prosthesis. I remember the leg standing in the corner of our bedroom, and it would strap on around her hips like a heavy girdle. Peggy adapted quite well, even learning to water ski on one leg and how to walk with it. However, the cancer kept spreading and she died in January of 1966, when she was 13 years old.
I was only in 6th grade, so I didn’t know what to expect - certainly death was never a thought. As she entered 8th grade, I remember her staying home more and more feeling very sick. We eventually made our living room into her bedroom, so she could have visitors.
The Christmas of 1965 will always be a memorable one for me. While my sisters were out looking at Christmas decorations around the city with my father and grandfather, something was happening at home. When we got back, there was a huge red felt bag in the living room. My mother said she heard the doorbell ring and when she went to answer it there was no one there, just this huge red bag. Peggy told her to leave it on the porch; it was so large she was afraid there was a person inside the bag. My mother assured her there was no one in the bag, and she dragged it into the house.
After we were home, we untied the top of the bag and there were many gifts for all of us girls in there. Some seemed like they may have been used before, but they were all new to us and we were very happy. We never knew who dropped off that bag, we presumed it may have been neighbors, or families from the Catholic School we were attending. That bag is still around and I was fortunate to have it for years with our children, retelling the story of the bag each year.
A couple of years ago when my brother-in-law was fighting his battle with brain cancer, we again filled the bag for my sister, brother-in-law, their children and grandchildren and dropped it off for them. Now that I was older, I could finally understand the deep gratitude my parents had for that bag.
Be thankful for the legs you have to run. Some day we will find a cure for cancer and it is because of what we are doing that scientists can keep searching for a cure. God be with you run for a cure!!
Peggy's family chose Mile 17 for her birthday on April 17th.
Make a donation in memory of Peggy and others we have lost, those still fighting, and those who may one day be spared this fight because of what we‘re doing.
Give to make yourself a part of this historical effort.
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