she usually sends help...

.....being a communications officer and dispatcher of emergency services, but today she was on the receiving end.
Maureen Rambone, a Warren County Sheriff's Office 911 dispatcher, sat at work this last week in front of an array of computer monitors, taking one urgent call after another. After calming down a frantic mother who thought she had lost her youngster, Rambone — a resident of Adirondack — reflected on her work and life."I love my work and I'm lucky, the way things are, to have such a good job," she said. Rambone is cheery and enthusiastic despite her daunting challenge — she's halfway through her first round of many scheduled chemotherapy treatments for stomach cancer, which was diagnosed in mid-January as having advanced to Stage 4.

Pausing from taking calls, Rambone said she is determined to keep working despite the pain and nausea that routinely follow the treatments."I can't take much time off from my job because maintaining my health insurance is extremely important," Rambone said. "I have a choice — come to work sometimes sick as hell or take time off, then be faced with a stack of bills I can't pay."To date, the county and co-workers have been giving her the workplace support and encouragement she needs, she said."The way people have pulled through for me is unbelievable," she said. "My co-workers giving me support, my neighbors stopping by and bringing dinners over, people offering rides, or just sitting and visiting — it's all wonderful."Rambone will likely be soon experiencing an outpouring of support and encouragement from all over the area, as the county Sheriff's Office employees host a public fundraiser dinner to help Rambone pay her ever-escalating medical and transportation bills.

We attended her spaghetti dinner fundraiser this evening in Chestertown. She was on hand for the 4 hour event, greeting and thanking people for their attendance. I admire her determination to continue working as she fights stomach cancer. As we were being introduced, my daughter was hesitant because said she was afraid she would have to hug her as all the people before us had done. After the not-so-awkward hugging moment, my daughter said "it felt good". That sums up the whole evening.