Esther Stohr:
CLASS OF 1973
Jasper Place Comp High SchoolClass of 1973
Edmonton, AB
Esther's Story
Esther is from Edmonton, Alberta. Esther is widowed. Esther's schools include Jasper Place Comp High School. Esther later attended Jasper Place High School (school).
Music Esther likes includes Awesome Things, Entertainment, Hot 98.3. Books Esther likes include Oh, so you wanna argue? bring it. i got my caps lock on.. TV shows Esther likes include Extreme Couponing.
More about Esther:"I wrote this after Alvin past away. I meant every word and still do...
I worked with a girl at Peace River IGA in 2000. Her name is Shanley Pawluk. Now Shanley has probably been a photographer most of her life. Since age 10 she wanted to be a photographer when she grew up. After high school she tried office administration but never really liked it. Shortly after, she met Peter. They dated for a while before they got married. They had a son and she put her dreams on hold to be a mom to Damon, besides not being able to afford her dream. After her daughter Haylie was born and they moved to an acreage, things got better and her first studio was built. From being a hobbiest photographer for so long, she became a freelance and lifestyle professional photographer in 2009.
This is my story,
Shanley had wanted to do our family pictures and I always had an excuse not to get them done, maybe later. You see I just wanted to lose a few pounds first..well maybe more than a few. When I quit smoking 5 years ago Nov 2008, I put on many extra pounds. Shanley even told me she would do them for free. She once told me she can see the beauty that I can not see within me. As the story continued on and the years went by I still had not lost the weight.
On June 11, 2012, we got the dreadful news that my dear husband Alvin had colon cancer. He went from 162 lbs to 126 lbs. Surgery would removed all the cancer from his colon but the day before surgery his tests came back that the cancer had spread to his liver. It was so devastating to me. I cried so much. Sometimes I had to pull over when I was driving because I could not see from all my crying. I sobbed. My heart was breaking. Alvin always kept a positive attitude that he was going to beat the cancer. The chemo was working and the two spots on his liver were shrinking! One spot had shrunk so much it could not be seen anymore!!! We were so happy!! And he was gaining weight too!! Shanley had even given me a gift certificate to have our pictures done. Now my excuse was let's just wait till Alvin is cancer free then when we get them done he can hold up a big sign that said " I kicked cancers butt!!!"
Soon he could have surgery to remove the cancer from his liver. During 2012 I was sick too but the doctors could not figure out what was wrong. I was going to the hospital every couple weeks. Finally I was booked for an MRI in January 2013. By this time I had lost the use of my hands and arms. I could not tell the difference between hot and cold, so had burnt my hands a few times with hot water. I was having trouble walking, my toes started to feel numb and I was falling. I had trouble dressing myself. My food had to be cut up for me. I needed help to take a shower and I needed help to lift my feet to get into the car. My surgeon said I had a benign tumour growing inside the top of my spinal canal. It was pressing on my spinal cord. Without surgery I would be a quadropligiac. Around this time my husband was also having days of being off balance, vomiting and was falling down. I had my surgery on February 25 and recovered well. Alvin was due soon to have his liver s...Expand for more
urgery but because he was now also getting headaches along with falling, he had more tests done. The MRI showed the cancer had spread to the balance areas in his brain. He had his 10 radiation treatments the first weeks of June. He was losing more weight again and was still having headaches and was sleeping all the time. July 18, we went to Edmonton to spend time with his son, daughter in law and our two grandsons from Ontario. We spent one day with them. Al was tired but was happy to see his son. It had been 12 years. The next day, Alvin had trouble walking and could barely lift his feet. We had him put in hospital. We found out his blood sugar was very high, 27 when it should have been around 4 - 8. Al was now diabetic. He was in hospital in Edmonton for almost two weeks then was transferred to Peace River Hospital.
I finally said yes to Shanley to take our family pictures. No I had not lost my weight and no Alvin still was not cancer free..
On August 20, 20 I 3 Shanley took our family photos..it was a cold windy day.... On August 30, 2013 at 12:55 pm, Alvin passed away. The photos she took that day in the hospital I will cherish forever. It was a very emotional day for me and at times I had to fight back the tears, although a couple times I could not.
The first time Al and I met was Christmas 1983 but we did not start dating until April 1984. Our meeting each other was a blind date set up between my sister and his sister. I lived in Regina and Alvin was living in Edmonton. We talked on the phone near every day and wrote many letters. April of 1984 I came home for a holiday. I knew I loved Alvin, so the following month I moved back to Edmonton to be with him. May 1986 we were married. Alvin and I had been together 29 years and married for 27 years.
He was my best friend, lover and soul mate. He said I was his Sunshine. We have two beautiful daughters, Emily and Hannah.
Shanley was right, she made me look okay in the pictures she took, I maybe thought I was fatter than I really was. And anyway who cares?? These were the last pictures of us with our girls. The last time he made his funny "say cheese" smile.
You don't have to show the pictures to anyone if you don't want to. I am so glad I have these final pictures of Alvin and our family. I just wish I would have listened to Shanley and had her do them a long time ago at a time when we were healthy and happy.
So what I am trying to tell you is, don't wait and you won't have any regrets....like me...Alvin is now gone and I have no more chances for family photos.
What I have learned is; don't wait for the best day, it may not come, don't wait till you have lost that weight, you may and you may not, it does not matter. Never put off something, like getting your pictures taken with your family.
What you have to remember is, one day you or your loved one will be gone. Don't lose your chance to get family photos. So just don't wait and just go get it done now! You will be glad you did.
Shanley,
If someone says no to a family session or even cancels a session – my wish would be for you to pass this letter to them. Time is very fragile and it can be gone before you know it. Time is valuable and precious, as is life. Even one picture would be so worth it. I am sorry that I did not know this before. My love and thanks for what you have given us.
Esther Stohr
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Nov 4, 2014 I had lung cancer surgery. Bottom lobe of my left lung was removed. I am now cancer free!!!".
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