CONCEPTION BAY SOUTH, N.L. — Sitting in the doctor’s office two weeks ago, Rose Janes only heard a few words of what her physician was saying before she asked for the rest to be written down because she couldn’t properly take in what was she was being told.
The words the doctor wrote on a piece of paper in answer to that request were what Janes, a 41-year-old mother of two, used to inform her youngest daughter, who is 20, that she had been diagnosed with leukemia.
“I couldn’t tell her, I had to get her to read the paper,” she said.
When she was diagnosed, not knowing what else to do, Janes told the doctor she was going to go back to her job as a flag person with a construction company.
“But… I took her advice to go home and sit back and think about it all,” Janes said. “I was driving around all weekend. In the night-time, I couldn’t sleep, just trying to deal with it all.”
A flagperson for 13 years, Janes was known as someone you want to see when you were stuck in a construction zone, idling.
“I just found a way to make them all not mind (being) stopped for a little bit,” she said. “Sometimes, I’ll get a song in my head and start dancing on the street, sing, talk the ear off them. I like talking to people outside when I’m at work.”
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Posted by Gina Greeley Elens on Thursday, September 24, 2020
But since the diagnosis, she hasn’t had a chance to generate smiles on that job. She hasn’t been able to work at her second job, cleaning on evenings and weekends, either. And without a steady income or health insurance, she fears she won’t be able to keep up with bills.
“My apartment, lights, I don’t want to lose my car, I worked so hard for that and I only have a little while left (to pay it off),” she said. “I don’t want to lose everything because of this leukemia that I have. It took my two jobs away, I don’t want it to take everything.”
Asking for help is something that doesn‘t come easily for Janes. She says she is still struggling with the idea.
“But my doctor told me… you have to let people help you," she said.
One of those wanting to helps is Gina Greeley Elens, a co-worker of Janes.
"My doctor told me… you have to let people help you." — Rose Janes
Elens has found it difficult to see the struggles of someone who is usually so full of energy. She wants Janes to have the opportunity to focus on herself, so she’s started raising money on her behalf.
“She doesn’t need to worry about bills, she’s got enough stress otherwise,” Elens said. “I want her back next year, making people laugh on the streets again.”
The leukemia has thickened Janes’s blood, making her at risk for a heart attack or seizure at any time, she said.
“Before they can do anything, they have to get my levels down,” she said. “It’s in my blood. I’ll never get rid of it. it will always be there.”
While Janes is still trying to understand a scary new reality, her attitude remains positive.
“I’m going to fight through it, I’m going to win,” she said. “I’m going to fight through it and get back to work as soon as I can.”
Donations are being accepted via email transfer to Janes’s daughter at [email protected].
Twitter: @AndrewLWaterman