Helping hands allow a focus on rest and recovery

Providing comfort, meal delivery, and even door-to-door wheelchair transport from Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin were all services Dan Justus delivered joyfully as his wife Sherah’s caregiver during their stay at Kathy’s House this fall.

The shift in dynamics since his wife Sherah was diagnosed with osteosarcoma may sound familiar to many couples.

“She’s a very determined woman. She wants to do everything herself,” Dan explains. “She always took care of me; I never took care of her. That was a hard transition for her – to give that up, accept that help.”

Accepting help was not optional, however, during the couple’s stay at Kathy’s House. While grandparents cared for their teenage children, Dan and Sherah traveled from Appleton to Milwaukee, staying at Kathy’s House during surgery and chemotherapy. What was important to them?

“Little things like being close to her, being able to make food for her. Those things helped. She’s comfortable here,” Dan said. He appreciated “being able to have that relaxation, that reprieve from the normalcy of hospital patients.”