A FATHER AND SON'S FIGHT - Emanuel Medical Center

SUMMER 2007
Helping Others Helps
Cal Newberry
It took three-and-a-half hours for Cal and
Carolyn Newberry to get from Turlock to
Stanford for that first cancer consultation in
2003.
“MapQuest had us drive down to San
Jose and then back up 101,” Cal says. “I
told the doctors, ‘We can’t be making this
drive every day!’ ”
The Newberrys found an easier route
to Stanford Medical Center, but the trip
was never easy. Carolyn and Cal fought
Cal Newberry holds a photo of his wife, Carolyn.
her ovarian cancer for four long years,
traveling a road too familiar to cancer
patients and their families – the pain, the
prayers, the exhaustion, the hope.
The desperation. Last November, after
four rounds of chemotherapy, doctors told
Carolyn there was nothing left to try.
“We just sat in that exam room and
cried,” Cal says.
In the end, they came home to Turlock,
where Emanuel’s Dr. Mohamed Eldaly
helped manage Carolyn’s pain and gave
Cal the advice he needed to hear.
“He looked me right in the eyes and told
me, kindly, ‘You need to take time off work
now and be with your wife.’ ”
Carolyn died a week later, on February
26, 2007, daughter Sara’s 17th birthday.
Carolyn died at home, comforted by her
family, friends and faith.
“She would be thrilled with this
endowment, knowing others won’t have to
travel so far for quality care,” Cal says.
Ronna Fraser
After months of tests, surgeries and
chemotherapy, Ronna Fraser is almost
through with her clash with cancer.
She has one last thing to do.
“I want to tell people in Turlock what a
wonderful cancer program our hospital
has implemented.”
Ronna was diagnosed with breast cancer
Ronna Fraser has finished her cancer treatments.
in September 2006, becoming one of the
first patients of Emanuel’s Cancer Services.
“The care was excellent, and it’s right here
in our own backyard.”
For Ronna, the hardest part was telling
her son.
“Todd is away at Fresno State and he
didn’t believe me when I said I was going
to be OK,” Ronna says.
When Todd came to visit, Emanuel’s
Dr. Mohamed Eldaly explained his
mother’s treatment and told him her
prognosis was excellent.
“Todd felt better after that,” Ronna says.
“So did I.”
(ENDOWMENT, Cont. from page 1)
that helps patients understand and
access all the treatment and services
available at the hospital and the new
Emanuel Medical Plaza. And as
long as the need exists, so will
the endowment.
“The endowment provides permanent
funds,” explained Emanuel’s Shirley
Pok, Vice President of Development.
“The Emanuel Cancer Endowment will
go on forever.”
Now that’s a legacy to be proud of.
(DYLAN, Cont. from page 1)
Dylan is home in Turlock now, a smart and
happy third-grader at Crowell Elementary
School. Arnet gives him chemotherapy at
home every day.
When his son was first diagnosed, Arnet
cried for three months straight - until a
conversation with Dylan altered his view.
“Why did this happen, Dad?”
“It happens to thousands of people every
year,” Arnet told him. “You happen to be
one of the unfortunate.”
“OK,” Dylan said. “I’d rather it be me than
you, or someone else.”
In that moment, Arnet’s perspective changed.
“I stopped thinking, ‘It should have been
someone else’,” Arnet says. “I stopped
obsessing about what had happened, and
focused more on what needs to happen.”
Together, Dylan and his dad look forward.
There are still tears, and pain. But mostly,
they see wonderful things on the horizon
– karate, fishing, riding bikes. They see
others in need, too, which is why they are
supporting the Legacy Circle campaign.
“Will it help other people with cancer?”
Dylan asked his dad.
“Yeah, it will,” Arnet said.
“Then let’s do it,” Dylan said.
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