"I do it for all the women who are not as blessed as me. They must never be forgotten." -- Elaine Boswell
In the spring of 2015, life served avid tennis player and Pennsylvania native Elaine Boswell the heaviest shot of the game. After a routine checkup at her annual gynecological appointment, a 68-year-old, in shape and asymptomatic Elaine was told she had stage two Ovarian Cancer.
After the initial devastation from the diagnosis wore off, Elaine had two questions: How were they going to beat this and when could they start? Because she seemed up for the challenge, Elaine's doctor suggested a very aggressive approach to treatment including an immediate hysterectomy followed by six treatments of chemotherapy in the span of three months.
For those three months, Elaine was bedridden as she witnessed her skin transform into a shade of white she had never seen. Her hair fell out slowly at first then seemingly all at once. As anyone who has gone through chemotherapy themselves or watched someone close to them experience the process knows, it's hell on Earth. Time crept by while Elaine grew sicker and sicker and felt her body deteriorate from lack of movement or exercise. Toward the end of her treatment, Elaine would ask her doctor daily if she could play tennis again soon? "Not yet" was always the answer, until one day, it wasn't.
"If you think you can play, go ahead." This was the only semblance of permission Elaine needed. Once she got out of bed, she never got back in. Whether or not she could actually play a game herself didn't matter; just going to the courts to watch others volley gave her a reason to get up every morning and that was enough.
