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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