After surviving breast cancer, a mastectomy and almost having to give up on a lifelong dream, Charnell Ruth considers surviving 50 one of her greatest achievements.
For Charnell her 50th birthday is a day she never thought she’d see. As a registered nurse with compassion for people suffering from mental illness, a love for Siberian Huskies, and a strong belief in the benefits of animal assisted therapy, she tells us how looking after her furry companions and training for a dryland sledding event gave her the courage to push through breast cancer treatment and find victory.
By the time Charnell was diagnosed with Stage 3 Ductal Carcinoma in March 2011, she was mother to about 50 huskies – five of them her own – and had been running Husky Rescue KZN for two years.
“I’ve had an interesting life and career with many defining moments. One of those was giving these beautiful, energetic and intelligent sled dogs a purpose. It turns out, they gave me purpose.”
Charnell has made it her mission, since founding her non-profit organisation Husky Rescue KZN in 2009, to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome unwanted, abandoned and stray snow dogs – one of the most overbred and euthanized breeds of dog throughout the world.
“In early 2011, before I was diagnosed, I decided to do something that hadn’t been done before locally … give these dogs the chance to experience the very thing that they were bred to do.”
Charnell established the first official KZN Dryland Sledding Club. They were set to be the first KZN club to participate in a South African National Dryland Sledding event and were well under way with training the huskies – using wheeled carts – when she was given the devastating breast cancer news.
“I was numb initially, hoping I would wake up from this nightmare of doctors poking and prodding and presenting me with options … chemo, surgery, radiation. It suddenly all became so real and I found myself facing a big decision … give up on my dream of taking the first KZN dryland sledding team to the National Event and allow this unexpected journey to take over my life, or fight for my health and refuse to kiss my dream goodbye.”
Charnell had chemo first – six cycles – as surgery would have prevented her from training. She managed the entire club, along with the dogs and all its members and never missed a single session.
“I wasn’t going to let cancer rob me of my plans and dream for that year! When the time came, between chemo sessions we travelled to Colesberg in the Northern Cape with 12 dogs, participated in several events, and as a club came home with two gold medals, one silver (this one was proudly mine), one bronze and a Red Lantern – an award given to the musher who crosses the finish line last.”
Charnell tells of how The Red Lantern Award dates back to 1953 when the first red lantern was given as a joke. Over the years it has become a symbol of perseverance and determination, something she has come to epitomize in the eyes of those who have walked her cancer journey with her.
“Deciding to do chemo first allowed me to continue with dog training, but also offered hope that through treatment the tumour would shrink enough for me to only need a lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy. This was a daunting journey I had to find my way through, and although I had the love and support of my family and close friends, my sled dogs were also there with me every step of the way.”
Charnell sees the bond between dogs and their owners as a deep and lasting connection.
“We can learn a lot from dogs. They live in the moment and exude unconditional love. We think we choose our pets but I believe they choose us. They come into our lives with a purpose to teach us something. Sometimes we are aware of that lesson and other times not. When it came to cancer, my dogs gave me something to focus on … a reason to stay positive and motivated, even on the bad days. And their love has no judgement. They allowed me to be whatever I needed to be at any given moment, no matter what I was feeling. And I was feeling a lot.”
Ultimately, Charnell had to have a mastectomy – the part of her journey which she says was the hardest to process.
“Again, my dogs played a role in my treatment. Because I was fit from all the training and had no comorbidities, my doctors said I was a candidate for a skin-sparing mastectomy and immediate staged breast reconstruction. A crutch I was not going to refuse and for which I was deeply grateful.”
She ultimately had a skin-sparing mastectomy after a breast MRI was done and two satellite lesions were found (too small to be seen on the mammogram and sonar). She then had delayed breast reconstruction.
“The first stage, which occurred simultaneously with the mastectomy, was an expander inserted in the muscle tissue to create a pocket that was gradually filled with saline. The second stage, six months later, was removing the expander and replacing it with a permanent silicone gel implant. Then a nipple reconstruction was done and an areola was tattooed on. This took 14 months in total.”
Charnell refused any radiation. “I’ve seen too many friends suffer permanent side effects from it, and it would have impacted on the success of my reconstruction.”
Eleven years and a successful reconstruction later, Charnell is healthy, happy and extremely grateful for God’s Grace in her life. And still very busy rescuing and rehoming Huskies.
“With my background in psychiatric nursing and my passion to help people with emotional challenges, one of the reasons for starting Husky Rescue KZN was to use these rescued dogs in Animal Assisted Therapy to help people.”
Through her Public Benefit Organisation ARROHHH Animal Assisted Therapy, she offers an animal-assisted (huskies and horses) activity programme for people from vulnerable groups as well as those suffering from mental illness, such as depression, anxiety and PTSD. She’s also just launched Healing Hearts with Huskies – a holistic destress workshop, that includes animal therapy, for those who need time out and the space to process the overwhelm of life.
“I turned 50 this year. I never thought this day would arrive because we are immortal of course and time does not pass us by. Milestones like these, however, do tend to make one look back and reflect.”
Details: You can follow Husky Rescue KZN or ARROHHH Animal Assisted Therapy on Facebook or visit huskyrescuekzn.com or arrohhh.org or contact Charnell on 078 040 8282.
CREDITS:
Photo: Bianca Wilde Photography, www.biancawilde.com
