Fayne has lots of friends

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Fayne Rein had always been a healthy woman, but a doctor saw a growth on her left foot near the heel during a routine checkup last year.
Since Rein told the doctor she sits on her foot at work, he figured it was a harmless cyst.
"But it got bigger and bigger," she said.
The doctor tried to drain the growth, but that didn’t work. Eventually, last May, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in her foot.
"It was scary," she said. "I started crying. I cried and didn’t want to be bothered."
Almost immediately, though, Rein thought about her 15-year-old daughter Paige, who’s a freshman at George Washington High School.
That’s when her outlook on life changed.
"I have a daughter. I want to live for my daughter and see her grow up," she said.
The last 10 months have not been easy for the 45-year-old Bustleton resident.
After intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments, doctors recommended that she have her left foot amputated to prevent the cancer from spreading to her lungs. The procedure was done in December.
"It was the only thing I could do to beat it," she said.
Rein hasn’t been alone in her fight. Far from it.
Her daughter helps care for her, and her parents, Marty and Sandy Lipman, who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on March 15, have left their home in Port St. Lucie, Fla., to provide assistance. Other big helpers include her sisters, Arlene and Lisa, and her good friend Hope Katz.
"They’re doing a great job," the patient said.
Then there’s her co-workers at Penn Jersey Paper Co., located at 2801 Red Lion Road. They’ve planned a beef ’n’ beer benefit for her for Sunday at a local American Legion post. They’re calling it "Friends for Fayne."
Besides the price of admission, money will be raised by a Chinese auction and a 50-50 drawing. Local small businesses have been especially generous in donating items for baskets. Penn Jersey, owned by the Furia family, is contributing all of the paper products.
"We want it to be something happy for her," said co-worker Ada Rivera-Mitchell.
Added co-worker Janice Romanausky: "Anything we raise will help her."
Rivera-Mitchell, Romanausky and colleagues Karen Pirmann, Judy Yeager, Jo-Ann Urick, Odete Kalczuk, Stacy Richardson and U-Meka Williams have been planning the event for the last two months.
They and the rest of the Penn Jersey Paper family have been helping Rein since her medical troubles began, holding raffles, payroll lotteries and casual days.
To feed Rein, her daughter and parents, they’ve contributed restaurant gift cards, money and home-cooked meals.
"There was a different meal delivered every day by an employee," Rein said in appreciation.
The employees think it’s their mission to help one another.
Besides providing for Rein, they plan to aid Friends for Fayne committee member Lydia Delgado, who is out of work after being diagnosed with colon cancer. She is doing well.
"We all feel like family. We pull together to help each other out," Yeager said.
Rein, who has worked at Penn Jersey for more than 13 years, is grateful for the outpouring of support.
"They’re my angels at work," she said. "They’ve done so much for me. Now they’re doing this. Unbelievable."
Right now, she is being kept busy in rehabilitation, learning to walk with a prosthetic foot and become more independent. She’s also circulating a petition on behalf of the Amputee Coalition of America, urging government to increase its coverage of prosthetics.
Her medical team expects that she can return to work in as soon as two months, if her grueling rehab continues to go well. She can’t wait to clock in again.
"I want to return," she said. "Going back to work would be a great thing. I don’t want to sit here."
Besides staying busy, a return to work would allow her to see all of her friends on a regular basis.
"From the bosses on down, they’re all great," she said. "It is the best place."
Rein’s doctors tell her she should be able to walk again without a limp. The amputation should keep the cancer away for good.
If attitude counts for anything, Rein should be able to walk perfectly and stay cancer free. She has such a positive outlook that leaders of group therapy sessions want her to speak to others in similar situations.
"I’m going to beat this thing," she said.
Rein and her coworkers expect to have a good time on Sunday.
"We’re going to be extremely happy and excited to see her," Williams said.
"It’ll be emotional," added Pirmann.
The smiles will be wide and tears flowing, especially when the disc jockey plays Dionne Warwick’s That’s What Friends Are For. ••
The Friends for Fayne benefit will take place Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. at Bustleton American Legion Memorial Post 810, at 9151 Old Newtown Road.
Tickets are available at the door. The cost is $25 and includes food, beer, music, a live dance performance and door prizes.
For more information, call Janice Romanausky at 215-992-5240.
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com