Posted on February 26, 2015 by Jared Sobel
From sorrow to joy, from sickness to health, Lynne had to undergo an odyssey of emotions while moving toward victory. While her family followed and supported her, the journey was mainly an individual one. From dentist to endodontist to oral surgeon, she was ferried back and forth to figure out what was wrong. Upon hearing the news, Lynne and her husband, Neil, were devastatingly sad. Lynne had cancer, stage two non-Hodgkins lymphoma in her cheek. For months Lynne had to undergo chemotherapy until the doctors knew that the tumor of cancerous cells was gone. The time dragged on longer and longer, and Lynne could only feel despair at how far away the end of the journey was.
Finally, she made it to proton therapy radiation, something that only the University of Pennsylvania and three other hospitals offer on the east coast of the United States. Each and every day for a long and tiring month, Neil drove her an hour to go to the very thing she hated the most, and yet the very thing that was saving her life. Each time she would have to have the mask bolted on as she lay on her back on a cold, metal table.
The final round of proton therapy ended, and Lynne rang the bell signaling the end of her journey. Her family accompanied her and there were smiles all around, but none as big as Neil’s smile which was filled with love and happiness. To this day, Lynne is one of the largest influences on my life, and I look up to her each and everyday as a role model of strength and perseverance and as my mother.
Photography and Text by Jared Sobel, Copyright 2015
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About the Author: Jared Sobel is a sophomore enrolled in the School of Engineering, University of Pennsylvania. Class of 2017
