Care, nurturing help 2 combat cancer

In the first terrifying days, when her 11-year-old daughter lay stitched together and drugged into a distant world, Linda Lottes curled up in a big chair and stared at her.

It would take all her cosmic energy to get her baby through this awful fix, and Linda wasn't leaving. Only a few short steps away she could stay free at the Ronald McDonald House while doctors and nurses at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg cared for Celeste, but Linda rarely let them out of her sight. She slept in that chair for two weeks as Celeste recovered from surgery that shortened her colon by seven inches, a desperate maneuver to stem a rare cancer that had spread like a wind-swept fire.

Finally, though weak and sick from chemicals, Celeste was free to go home to New Port Richey. In the next four months, Linda, a single mom, put her waitressing job on hold to care full time for her daughter. She chauffeured her to St. Petersburg for regular bombardments of chemicals and stroked her head during the violent heaving. When Celeste's thick hair began falling out in clumps, Linda shaved her head and kissed it.

"She kept my spirits up," said Celeste, now 14 and doing fine as an eighth-grader at Gulf Middle School. "She made me laugh. She made me believe everything was going to be all right."

Now it is Celeste's turn to play nurse.

On Jan. 24, four months into her 50th year, Linda Lottes learned she had breast cancer that had spread to her lymph glands. She underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy. As they told their story to help boost attention for this week's gathering of cancer survivors at the annual Relay for Life, Celeste buffed her hands across her mother's bald head and gave it a big smooch.

"Oooooooh," said daughter. "Scratchy!"

"Aw," said mother, "quit your complaining."

Celeste has cooked, cleaned and comforted, as her mother has fought the battle. And in the ultimate role reversal, she has nagged, primarily to keep Linda away from the Viceroy cigarettes that keep calling her name. After 30 years of puffing, giving them up is hell.

Linda shakes her head as she thinks about the irony that surrounds her habit. She was introduced to smoking while in high school by the guy training her to become a lifeguard.

During her chemo treatments, even food reminds Linda of smoking. "It tastes like, you know, when you light the wrong end of a filter cigarette? You know?"

Celeste, whose last name is Nolan, cheerfully accepts her duty as caregiver, and not only to repay her mom for doing the same. "I'm going to be an oncologist," she says confidently. "This is good training."

While fighting Burkitt's lymphoma, Celeste asked doctors a million questions. She says that even at such a tender age, she considered that she might die. "But I just said if I was going to die, I'd live the best I could in the meantime."

Said Linda: "She was 11 going on 21."

While Celeste recovered, Linda resumed her job at Tony's Fireside restaurant on State Road 54. Next door is an oncology clinic, and many patients and their families would come by to eat. "We had a lot in common," Linda said, "so you can imagine the conversations."

The family, which also includes Trevor, now 21, learned how such dramatic health emergencies can bring out the best in people. In a show of solidarity, Celeste's best friend shaved her head. Then, in a more public show of support, the Suncoast Children's Dream Fund arranged for the family to go to New York and meet actor Robin Williams. That made the St. Petersburg Times, as Celeste said she chose to meet Williams because she loves to laugh.

That much is still obvious, and it seems to be the best medicine for mom.

The stack of get-well cards on the bookcase has a similar effect. After 10 years at Tony's Fireside, Linda has a lot of loyal customers who have expressed their concern.

"Linda always has a positive attitude," said restaurant owner Terry Tsigounis. "I've never heard her complain. She has customers that absolutely adore her. We're hoping to have her back soon."

For now, Linda and Celeste plan to join other cancer survivors Friday evening when they take the first lap at the Relay for Life at Gulf High School, one of three relays this year in Pasco County. After the opening ceremonies at 6 p.m., hundreds of others will walk to raise money for the American Cancer Society while the stadium buzzes with music and other entertainment. At 9 p.m., luminaria will honor survivors and those who died from the disease. Closing ceremonies are set for 11 a.m. Saturday. You can get more information by calling (727) 863-1019.

"When the candles surround the track, it just blows you away," Linda said. "And then they spell out HOPE in the bleachers while a Scottish bagpiper plays Amazing Grace. I'm telling you, there's not a dry eye in the place. My dream is that more and more candles are lit in honor of survivors, not memory."

Meanwhile, mother and daughter will walk -- together.

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