Peggy Hoffman

      A combination of trust in miracles, a positive attitude, and assistance from 4PeteSake has brightened the prospects for Spring Green’s Peggy Hoffman, 57, who was diagnosed last December with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer that, she said recently, attacks plasma cells in the bone marrow.

      The medical crisis left Hoffman without insurance and forced her to quit working, but she praised the local 4PeteSake medical assistance fundraising group, now in its fourth year, for offering aid to local people in need.

      “I knew about 4PeteSake, but I never dreamed I would be participating,” she said last week during a conversation in her duplex in the Village of Spring Green. “Their compassion is just phenomenal. I’m in awe of what they’ve done.” Hoffman is one of six River Valley residents who are 2008 recipients of 4PeteSake medical expense assistance. A daylong series of events is set for August 17 at North Park as the high point of 4PeteSake activities.

      An Ohio native, Hoffman is one of nine siblings and the daughter of a mechanic on the Pennsylvania railroad. She moved to Spring Green in 1991, and worked in the food services for 26 years including nine years at manager of the Wintergreen Ski Hill kitchen, and 15 years as general manager at the Round Barn. She worked at Lands’ End, Dodgeville, for the past six years at a job, which she said, will be waiting for her when she’s able to return to work.

      About a year ago, Hoffman began experiencing daily back pain, believed to be a chronically herniated disc. Conventional medicine, chiropractic treatment and acupuncture didn’t offer any relief, she said.

      Then in December 2007 an X-ray revealed something on her spine. On January 5, she fell in her garage and couldn’t get up. She was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital, Madison. “They found this tumor which had attached itself to the bone,” she said. “It had destroyed two vertebra.”

      The diagnosis, she said, was the incurable but treatable myeloma. During surgery in January, a “titanium box” was put in place to serve for the missing vertebra. She was hospitalized for most of the month, and did rehabilitation there. A relative from Ohio who is an occupational therapist came to Spring Green to assist with the recovery.

      “I had faith that God was going to give me a miracle,” she said. “My body needed a rest. It was beaten up.”

      Facing mounting medical bills, Hoffman followed up in applying for help from 4PeteSake. “They asked, how can we help you,” she said. “What I wanted was time to recover so I wouldn’t have to go back to work before I was ready.”

      While some of her expenses have been forgiven, she faces a large debt. “There is no remission with this cancer, but it can be controlled,” she said. Until recently, she was treated with steroids, which were halted when her blood count was deemed acceptable.

      Sleeping, reading and gardening are comforting and recuperative, Hoffman noted. “I’m not going to let this beat me. One doesn’t know until there is that need. Financially I don’t have what I had, but it’s okay.”

      She showed a generous awareness for other people in the community. “I feel so bad for the flood victims,” she said.

      Hoping for the best, Hoffman plans to return to work in the fall. Speculation about the source of her illness, which is felt by about 100,000 other in the United States, includes possible reactions to radiation and chemicals, she said.

      The future holds more tests, and possible treatment with chemotherapy and more steroids if needed. But Hoffman said she is living in the moment these days. “I used to worry about the future. I don’t worry about that now,” she said.

      She plans to be present with the other 4PeteSake recipients at North Park on August 17. Her summary of 4PeteSake efforts: “I’ve never seen anything like it within a community. It gives hope to so many people.”

      Peggy Hoffman is the Featured Recipient for the 4Pete Sake Day activities.  Fund-raising continues year round for 4PeteSake. Donations can be sent to Christ Lutheran Church/4PeteSake, P.O. Box 190, Spring Green WI 53588.