PINK The Winter Wonderland Event honoring Julie Ekstrom

230 West Washington Street,Rensselaer IN 47978

25 February, 2023

Description

This year our guest of honor is Julie Ekstrom a local Rensselaer resident which has lived in the community since her early childhood. Julie has been married to Marc Ekstrom, (Assistant Chief of the RVFD), for 22 years and they have 2 older children Kayla and Kole. Julie is known for being the friendly face at R&M Wholesale a once local grocery store in Rensselaer for 18 years with 12 of those being the store manager. After R& M closed, Julie was employed with Witco for 3 years before taking the position as the deputy treasurer for the Japer County courthouse. Julie expressed how much she enjoys her job and loves working with the public. Unfortunately, Julie recently discovered changes from a previous doctor's evaluation from just 2 years ago and she was now faced with alarming new symptoms that developed over time and needed immediate attention. Sadly, with another mammogram and biopsy Julie received the devasting news on 11.14.22 with a breast cancer diagnosis of Invasive ductal carcinoma stage 3, with cancer cells also found in a nearby lymph node. Julie was told by the team of surgeons and oncologist that treatment would need to be given first to try and shrink the mass before surgery, because of its large size. Julie is currently getting chemotherapy treatments for the next couple months and will then get an MRI to determine surgery moving forward. Afterwards, Julie will need to s start radiation treatments for 3-6 weeks. Through this time Julie has kept a positive attitude as she remains optimistic. Julie enjoys spending time with family & friends, being outdoors and working out, and she certainty doesn't allow cancer to limit her abilities to do what she loves! We admire Julie’s determination and love for life. We encourage everyone to come out and support Julie for this special honor. If for whatever reason you are unable to attend the event you can still make a donation on Julie's behalf. Anyone can still donate until the day after the event is closed on this platform OR you can mail a check to PINK for Sam PO BOX 124, RENSSELAER, IN. 47978 * Please make checks out to PINK for Sam. Julie and her family appreciate all the prayers, love and support! Thank you!