On Dec. 1, the 54-year-old housemother for Delta Tau Delta fraternity was diagnosed with brain cancer and told she had a few weeks left to live. Although she beat the doctor's initial estimates, she now aims to contain the terminal illness.
They told me to get my stuff in order
she said. It was difficult; I had to do a living will.
Sayre has worked for Delta Tau Delta for nine years in their College Street house, mostly cooking, helping to manage finances and supporting the members. Because of a doctor-required retirement, however, she is unable to return to work.
I've got to say those boys have been really good. I think I put the fear in them by telling them I worked in an all-male prison and don't take no crap she said.
The entire fraternity was stunned to find Sayre not there after returning from winter break, but then organized support from members and alumni, said chapter President Matt Jared.
She's got the best attitude in the world about what she's going through
he said.
Sayre went through surgery last month to remove part of a two inch in diameter growth, a painful process that could not completely eliminate the cancer.
It felt like somebody had taken a sledge hammer to the side of my head and forgot to take that sucker out
she said.
On Monday, Sayre began undergoing chemotherapy on a long schedule of five days a week for the next six weeks. She will continue the treatment for the rest of her life. After a week off chemotherapy, she will return for 23 straight days.
The cancer attacked the nerve endings so bad that I'll soon be blind in my left eye and deaf in my left ear
she said.
About 150 to 200 former and current students called and visited Sayre's hospital room during her stay before she disconnected the phone so as not to disrupt the staff, she said.
(The students) said
'You're like our second mom.' I always told the boys they're my adopted sons
she said.
Sayre began working at the Bromley building in 1973 as a housekeeper. She became assistant manager of food services in 1991, and then worked briefly for a small prison in Nelsonville and Athens Mental Health Hospital. She spent the next nine years as a cook for the former OU chapter of the Phi Mu sorority.
I ran all my life with these kids
but now it's slowing to a crawl
she said, declining to say the doctors' current prognosis for fear of worrying friends.
Sayre cites her small family and the fraternity as motivation to push forward. She married longtime boyfriend David Altier on Christmas Eve after dating for more than two decades, and they live together in Stewart, about 15 miles east of Athens. They both remain resolute.
You just deal with it
that's all. Time don't wait for nobody
