From Missouri-
As Roberta Beach recovered from a fourth cancer surgery, a friend came to live with her and changed her life. The friend, a beagle mix named Oliver, came home with Beach at the suggestion of her mother, who said she thought the dog might help her daughter's recovery.
Between 1985 and 1998, Beach intermittently fought squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, neck and jaw with radiation therapies and multiple surgeries. After one surgery, she was left unable to speak for a period of time and breathed through a tracheotomy tube for over two months. Beach said at one point, she had a free flap surgery which took bone from her leg to reconnect her jaw. "I can say my leg bone is connected to my head bone," she now says with a laugh.
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In April, her rescue became a division of Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary in Cape Girardeau County. Beach is the board secretary at Safe Harbor and also volunteers there weekly. An important aspect of Beach's life, and her work as a rescue director, is her faith, she said. Beach is also a licensed healing minister at a local Episcopal church. "An important part of who I am is prayer," she said.
Prayer and talk of creed at her church helped Beach develop her personal motto: "Dedicated to God, serving in prayer, healing and animal welfare." Several years ago, she said, she visited monasteries to see if she was suited to become a member, because she has felt since her teenage years that she would lead a solitary life. Instead, she decided to live with an emphasis on daily prayer. She said she prays for her patients and could not do her rescue without the assurance of prayer and a personal belief that "all will be well."
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http://www.semissourian.com/story/1661950.html
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