NJ Cops | Page 42

42 NEW JERSEY COPS n JULY 2014 JOB WELL DONE Living life to the fullest Wife of Glen Ridge sergeant who succumbed to cancer wants patients and caregivers to make their days count n BY DONNA WEAVER Nicole Zeuner’s quest to bring support and inspiration to terminally diagnosed cancer patients and their families began when her husband, Glen Ridge Police Sergeant Robert Zeuner, died on April 9, 2013 at the age of 47 after a lengthy battle with colorectal cancer. Zeuner’s death served as the inspiration for the creation of the Zeuner Foundation, an organization that embodies its message taken from Muhammad Ali: “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” Similarly, Zeuner’s robust life leads the focus of the Foundation’s motto: “Inspire, dream, live.” “By living a robust life, it was Robert’s goal to become a living example that a terminal cancer diagnosis is not an immediate death sentence,” stated a May 12, 2014 press release announcing the Foundation’s new website: www.zeunerfoundation.org. “The website is aimed at assisting terminal adult cancer patients and their caregivers in achieving dream destinations and special events as part of a palliative care initiative,” the release read. Following Zeuner’s example, the Foundation has a unique goal in that it recognizes that cancer affects the primary caregiver and families as well as the patient, because caregivers often stop caring for themselves while focusing on the loved one who is suffering. This means a caregiver may suffer from exhaustion, anxiety and depression and the organization can make a difference and assist them. By including the caregiver in its support efforts, it helps them ease the stress of tending to a loved one. The Foundation is able to provide moments of restorative rest and buoyant pleasure outside the daily routine of providing care for the caregiver. The nonprofit Foundation believes that by supporting the caregiver in his or her efforts, they are boosting the quality of life of the terminal cancer patient. “The benefits provided by the Zeuner Foundation to the adult terminal cancer patient and caregiver are immeasurable,” said Nicole Zeuner, executive director of the Zeuner Foundation. “As a caregiver to both my late husband, Robert, and my late sister, Tereba – both of whom lost their courageous long-term battles with cancer – I know how important it is to create special memories.” The Foundation supports terminally diagnosed adult cancer patients residing in the New York/New Jersey metro area. Patients must be 18 years old or older and caregivers are defined as any person who is responsible for the daily care of the patient. The foundation receives referrals from physicians at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. It is currently developing similar relationships with physicians and hospitals in New Jersey. “The last and perhaps one of the biggest hurdles that patients with advanced cancer must overcome is accepting that they no longer have the options of effective cancer treatments or clinical trials,” said Dr. Garrett M. Nash of Memorial Sloan Kettering and an avid supporter of the Foundation. Dr. Nash said many of these patients have spent years fighting cancer step by step and now they face their final steps without focusing on the treatments that have kept them alive. “The families of these patients often want to provide them with positive experiences so that their remaining days, weeks or months can be focused on pursuing the things that they have loved or longed to do,” Nash added. “The Zeuner Foundation was created so that more patients can have the opportunity to live out their dreams – even for just a day.” d