Daughter will walk in mom's memory

"The most important things to her were friends and family," said her daughter, Dawn McGuinness. "She also loved the sun and swimming. She loved to be in the sunshine."

Mrs. Stevens, a 1958 graduate of Catholic Central High School in Troy, died ten years ago of breast cancer, but she passed on the importance of family and friends to her daughter -- as well as her love of sunshine.

Celebration

Mrs. McGuinness, who is a member of the board of directors of The Evangelist, is heading up a four-member team that will participate in the Avon Breast Cancer Three Day, a 60-mile walk that raises funds, celebrates survivors and cheers on women fighting breast cancer. She and her team will walk from Bear Mountain in Orange County to Manhattan in September.

The team includes Mrs. McGuinness' sister-in-law Mickie Baldwin, a parishioner of St. Helen's in Niskayuna; her sister-in-law Megan Garufi of Pelham, N.Y.; and a family friend, Susan Hameline-Kaszney, a longtime parishioner of St. Paul's in Schenectady who now lives in Connecticut.

For mom

"She would say go for it, but she wouldn't expect me to finish," said Mrs. McGuinness. "I'm 35-years-old, and I have Cystic Fibrosis. My mother would think that participating would be a big accomplishment. Since I can do it, I should do it."

Until recently, people with Cystic Fibrosis didn't live to be 35. "I grew up thinking that I would die [before my mother]," she said. "I would never have to deal with loss or grieving. I grew up feeling protected. It never occurred to me that I would lose my Mom and Dad."

Mrs. Stevens' was diagnosed with breast cancer six months after her husband died. "By the time she found the lump, it was too late," Mrs. McGuinness said.

Full life

After graduating from CCHS, Mrs. Stevens attended St. Mary's School of Nursing in Troy. She then moved to Miami, where she met her husband, and moved with him to Kansas and then California, where their daughter was born.

When the family moved back to Troy in the 1980s, Mrs. Stevens went to work at Eddy Memorial Geriatric Center on the skilled nursing floor. "She loved her work," Mrs. McGuinness said. "She always loved geriatrics, especially the Alzheimer's patients. She couldn't wait to go to work."

Cared for

"I was living in New York City at the time and would come home on the weekends," Mrs. McGuinness said. "Her friends took turns caring for her. My grandmother and aunts were amazing.

"At the end, my mother held on stubbornly. I took a leave of absence from work and came home. The beauty of that was that sometimes if I couldn't sleep at night, I would just go to the hospital in the middle of the night to sit with her."

Final days

"I wasn't sure I believed it myself, but I did what they said. When we knew the end was imminent, they told me I needed to go home. I wanted to be with her when she finally died, but it wasn't meant to be. Even in the end, she protected me.

"The saddest thing for me was that we were just becoming such good friends. I was finally out on my own and able to see my parents not just as parents but as people. I was learning to truly appreciate her accomplishments and the sacrifices she made for me."

End and start

"Our Lady of Victory is our family's parish," Mrs. McGuinness said. "It was comforting to get married there. It meant a lot to have it there since we had shared so many happy memories there."

Although Mrs. McGuinness's sisters-in-law never met Mrs. Stevens, she is often on their minds. "I absolutely wish I could have met her," said Mrs. Baldwin. "Dawn is such a loving and caring person; she must have gotten that from her mother and father. When we have celebrations, I always think of [Mrs. Stevens] and wish that she were a part of them."

Mrs. Baldwin, who suggested the walk, said the challenge is what first attracted her to it. "I didn't have a noble reason for wanting to do this," she said. "I decided that I would like to set a big physical goal and then meet it. This seemed like the thing to do, and I did think of Dawn's mother."

In addition to the physical challenge, each of the participants must raise $1,900 to participate, which is a bit daunting for Mrs. McGuinness.

Get set

"Walking is an awesome time to think and meditate," she said. "With working, raising three kids and volunteer responsibilities, I often don't have time to pray for my kids and my grandparents. Walking has given me that time."

Mrs. McGuinness also finds walking to be spiritual. "When you walk, that's a form of prayer," she said. "When I walk, I'm grateful for the ability to do this."

She looks to her mother for inspiration as she trains for the event. "I may feel tired and out of breath, but then I think of my Mom and her strength," she said. "My Mom taught me so much about courage. She taught me that our spirit is stronger than our bodies."

(Anyone interested in supporting Dawn McGuinness's team can send their tax-deductible donations to James McGuinness, 14 State St., Troy, NY 12180, or call 271-0570. Checks should be made payable to Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day. For more information, visit www.breastcancer3day.org. The author of this article is related to Dawn McGuinness by marriage.)

(05-10-01) [[In-content Ad]]