CONTRIBUTIONS

Sarah Robinson was a remarkable human being… words on a page cannot describe her. Her laugh, smile, and sense of humor, coupled with her love for people, generosity and strength made her incredibly unique. Sarah was born a twin in Greenville, Maine and moved to the town of Dexter at the age of three with her family.

 

In 2010, Sarah complained of lack of feeling in her left arm, and Lindsay, a nurse, quickly decided to take Sarah to the EMMC emergency room. Multiple tests were done before an MRI detected a brain tumor. Sarah’s fight began quickly that spring. She underwent an open-awake craniotomy in Boston to remove the tumor and then had chemotherapy and radiation treatments using state-of-the-art technology at the Lafayette Cancer Center in Brewer. It was during her treatment in Brewer that the idea of a Cancer Hospitality House first began.

 

Sarah’s idea was born out of interactions with two women that were receiving radiation treatment at the Lafayette Cancer Center at the same time Sarah was there. These women were both traveling great distances to get to treatments. One woman came from Eastport — five hours round trip, every day, five days a week, for six weeks! Sarah couldn’t imagine the added hardships caused by travel to and from the Cancer Center, and she said, “they can just stay the night at our house. Let’s go buy bunk beds and set them up downstairs for people to sleep on.” Sarah knew that buying bunk beds was not the solution to a much bigger problem, and she was serious about the idea of helping these patients find a place to stay. She took her idea to the Old Town Rotary Club where it picked up support and momentum. “It needs to be bigger; we need a house!” she said.

 

And so it was born, the idea to build a cancer hospitality house to serve our region and the biggest, most rural part of our state. Sarah met with the people she knew through Rotary and her work in the community, and the process of creating the future Sarah’s House began.

Sarah was featured as a cancer survivor the summer before she passed and was quoted: “It was in my battle with cancer that I found my purpose for living.” In August of 2011, Sarah’s cancer returned. This time an operation was not possible. With her sense of humor intact and her courageous spirit unbroken, Sarah spent her last days at home with her loving family and friends. Her family all said the same things about her near the end: “She made us laugh every single day. She was not afraid…her faith was so strong…”

 

Sarah Lunette Robinson, 26, died Sunday, December 4, 2011.

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The mission of Sarah’s House is to provide temporary lodging in a comfortable “home away from home” environment to cancer patients (and their caregivers) receiving treatments at Cancer Care.  We serve a vast area for cancer treatment, and convenient lodging is essential for these people.  At Sarah’s House, we provide not only an affordable place to stay, but a supportive and caring atmosphere centered around hope and healing.  Referred guests are served with integrity and respect and without regard to financial resources.