|
|
Far
from her Alaska home and the dogs she loved so much,
four-time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher died Saturday in a
Seattle hospital.
She
was 51 years old
|
December 13, 2005
A
True Legend
Susan
Butcher was diagnosed with Leukemia this month and is in
Seattle undergoing treatment. If there is anyone who looms
larger in Alaska sports history, they don't come to mind
(except for perhaps her lead dog "Granite".
Butcher won the Iditarod 4 times, an achievement matched by
only one other musher. She finished every race except one,
when a moose charged and killed several of her dogs, the
lead dog among them. My aunt made booties for her dog teams.
I remember Rick Swensen reducing himself to
"Clown" status by suggesting that women had a
built-in advantage on the Iditarod because of their extra
body fat.
Susan Butcher is a true champion who loves her sport and her
dogs more than Rick Swensen loves his "Friday
Juice". If she has anything to say about, she'll win
her health battle too. I'll be sending my good thoughts into
the ether just the same, as will all of Alaska.
"I do not know the word
'quit'. Ether I never did, or I abolished it".-Susan
Butcher
this post by Viceroy De Los Osos |
|
| "Acute
myelogenous leukemia, also known as AML, develops because of
a defect in immature cells in the bone marrow. It's one of
the most common types of leukemia in adults, with almost
12,000 new cases expected this year, according to the
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. About 50 cases have been
reported in Alaska." etc
said
Willow musher DeeDee Jonrowe, one of Butcher's close friends:
"You
know, I don't really care what the medical community would
say about this particular disease," Jonrowe said
Thursday. "I know Susan, and when Susan puts her mind
to something -- there is no more formidable pair than Susan
and Dave. There's nothing those two united can't
accomplish." |
|
| Last
year Butcher, who had
experienced difficult-to-pin-down health problems for years began
treatment for AML
Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center
1100 Fairview Ave. N. PO Box 19024 Seattle, WA 98109
Would have been referred to
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
825 Eastlake Ave. E
P.O. Box 19023
Seattle, WA 98109-1023
(206) 288-7222
contactus@seattlecca.org
|
Would
someone know what these symptoms were?
"Butcher, who had
experienced difficult-to-pin-down health
problems for years, began treatment 12/05 at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center at the
University of Washington
What were these symptoms .. ?
Any of these?
PO Box 233
Valdez, AK 99686
907-835-3135
|
|
