Tina Treacher

Brother: Esophegial cancer survivorSAU Cougar Den Dining Supervisor

Tina Treacher and her brother David enjoy-ing coffee at their favorite diner.

Tina Treacher warms up the cold Michigan winters with her endless Southern hospitality and spunk. She is known for giving her student workers unique nicknames and greeting them loudly from across the kitchen with an enormous smile and an equally enor-mous hug. Her constant joy is indicated in her own nickname: Tot, given to her by her best friend and brother, David Langston, who not long ago faced Esophageal Cancer. It almost took his life. March 2009, David complained of stomach and chest pains and nausea. Doctors considered the flu, ulcers, and bronchitis but after numerous tests he was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer.

By the time of his diagnosis, however, radiation treatments were deemed useless because the can-cer was so advanced. His only option was surgery to remove his esophagus, so he agreed.

After the surgery, David did not recover well. He went into a coma and one of his lungs col-lapsed. His heart beat began slowing, remained slow, he suffered two heart attacks, and he devel-oped bacterial infections. David was put on life support because of his critical condition.

Five specialists were on David’s case. Ramona Langston, David’s mother, brought David to many doctor’s and stayed with him during the day.

Tina reported to her brothers side after work at 7 p.m. to relieve her mother, and stayed until visit-ing hours were over around 11p.m. Tina would sit with him, and hold his hand telling him what she did at work,what her son Chad had cooked that night for the university’s dinner, what the weather was like, that he had a new niece on the way he needed to meet, and she always reminded him that God was with him. Doctors told Tina he couldn’t hear her, but Tina was convinced he could.

“I just knew he could hear me,” said Tina “And I wanted him to know what was going on, he would like that.”