Kerri Midkiff takes a seat on one of the soft old leather sofas in her small but cheerful meeting room inside the Lowell Church of Christ.
It’s a familiar place for her, a place for worship and a place for solace and compassion.
It is at the church, 299 N. Burr St., Lowell, where she planted her seeds for the Hope Center two years ago — a place where families affected by cancer can meet and discuss their experiences.
Today, the Hope Center offers family cancer support group meetings every two weeks. Families come together and divide up into caregiver, survivor, children and teen groups. Restorative stretching is taught by an instructor at 6 p.m. every Tuesday, except the first week of the month.
Since her initial diagnosis of breast cancer on Friday, March 13, 2009, she has had a double mastectomy, a full-hysterectomy, and several rounds of chemo, and now, Midkiff said, the disease has metastasized to her brain. Her most recent relapse came in December and she expects to start radiation.
Nonetheless, she says she feels fantastic.
“This will be seven years in March. I think that is phenomenal. I don’t have pain, just a tiny bit of symptoms. Otherwise, I feel completely healthy,” Midkiff said.
After her initial diagnoses and subsequent surgeries, Midkiff sought out a support center where she and her husband, Brian, could bring their daughters Riley, 13, and Hailey, 10. At the time Riley was 6 years old and Midkiff wanted something to help her daughter develop understanding as they learned to cope with the disease.
“We ended up in Mokena (Ill.,) — an hour and 20 minutes away,” Midkiff said. “I had just had surgery and I had to lay in the back seat of my car with pillows propping up my arms. That’s when it first crossed my mind (to create a support group closer to home).
“In Mokena there was a counselor, and by our third visit, the counselor said, ‘your daughter Riley has something to show you.’ It was a drawing of a person — me — with dots all over my body and with X’s on my breasts. She was able to understand that there were bad cells in my breasts. That was all she needed to have a peaceful heart and that was what I wanted for her. To be able to explain to a child what this awful monster is.”
She had originally envisioned a secular effort. She was unable to get any traction with the concept and she approached her pastor, Chuck Hochmuch. He encouraged her to start the cancer support group inside the church and gave her office space to create a ministry.
The Hope Center is a faith-based group, but it is not a prayer group, said Midkiff.
“We do say a prayer at the end of the meeting. But this is not a Bible study,” said Midkiff. Individuals from all faiths are welcome.
Lisa Nichols, of Lowell, is a practicing Catholic and is a member of St. Edward Catholic Church. Nichols said attends regularly with her grandsons as her adult daughter has been battling cancer for 12 years. Nichols has missed the last few meetings as her daughter is recovering from surgery, but prior to attending the Hope Center support group, she had never sought out a group before.
“I guess there’s a time when you say enough is enough and you have someone approach you,” she said. It was the right time, the right people and the right place.
“We get to talk about anything on our chest so we can get it out. It doesn’t go beyond the four walls. My grandsons participate in the younger class and they just love it,” said Nichols. “It provides me with support. Everybody is there for the same reason — for some type of terminal illness of their mom, dad, daughter or spouse. This is your time to open up. You hear their stories and you all come together as a big family.”
Nichols attends the restorative yoga class with her daughter. “It is for anyone that has any type of disability. She allows them to bring a sponsor or caregiver, so I go with my daughter. It is very open, warm and welcoming. It is very nice,” said Nichols.
“The difference between coming here and another center is that you can come in here and talk to a survivor right off the bat,” said Midkiff. “I would have loved to have had the opportunity to talk with another survivor. I did talk with other cancer survivors over the phone, but I did not meet anyone (in person) until later.”
This year the church garden club created a small Hope Garden. The center is selling brick pavers in various sizes that can be engraved. In June, the Hope Center will have its third Butterfly 5K walk/run at Stoney Run County Park.
Nancy Coltun Webster is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Learn more:
Hope Center, located in the Lowell Church of Christ, 299 N. Burr St., Lowell. For more information, call 219-696-7591.
