Positive attitude helps northern woman beat cancer

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Trudie-Ann Plamondon loves sports.

"Growing up in Fort Chipewyan I played all of the sports," recalls the affable 35-year-old Metis. "Basketball, soccer, volleyball and any other sport in intramural. Sports was the cat's meow."

Born in Fort McMurray and raised in Fort Chipewyan, Plamondon returned to her Fort McMurray roots when she was 13 years of age. It was indeed a "new life."

"It was my grandmother (Jenny Flett) who raised me," said Plamondon. "My parents divorced when I was only a few months old.

"We didn't have much. No running water or bathroom. Heck, I was 10 when I got my first TV, and it was black-and-white and we only had one channel, CBC North.

"Coming back to Fort McMurray it was difficult at first. It took me time to find myself."

Following high school graduation, Plamondon was introduced to the local senior ladies' soccer scene.

"I loved it right away. I was only 16 at the time but they took me in and I started out playing goal."

Now 19 years later, the wheels are still churning as she plays forward while suiting up for the Fort McMurray Fury.

"It's been great playing ladies' soccer," said the mother of five. "The competitiveness, the friendships."

It was those friendships that came to the forefront last year when Plamondon was diagnosed with cancer.

"I look back and will never forget the day I was given the news . . . I was numb," recollected Plamondon of the diagnosis. "It was Feb. 12, 2001 when they told me I had cancer. I was shocked. I don't think it really hit me until the kids came home from school and all I could think of was the kids.

"Do I tell the children now or do I wait till I go through the surgery first? I was worried about the kids, worried about my family."

Following surgery a month later, Plamondon was told that she would not be able to do any physical activity for up to six to eight months.

"Take it easy and don't think about anything. Don't think about soccer even," they told me. "I replied, 'No way.' I was just too active a person. By June, I was back on the soccer pitch."

Plamondon admits that her coach was a bit hesitant at first about her playing but knew there was, in Plamondon's own words, "no holding me back."

A fellow teammate and cancer survivor also gave support to Plamondon.

"When she had it (cancer) I felt for her but the reality of it did not hit until I got it. I talked to her because she understood where I was at and what I was going through. Having someone like her was an inspiration, and if she could do it then I could do it as well."

Her early childhood growing up in Fort Chip also assisted with her recovery.

"I learned not to take things for granted. What we have now is something we worked hard for. Growing up we had little, and a lot of people do not appreciate what they have. I appreciated life. My Momma (Flett) taught me that. I wish I could say thank you to her in all her languages she knows. I remember as a kid sitting beside her listening to her speak Cree, Chip, French and English."

Plamondon concluded saying that for any one with a major illness there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

"At first I had to question. Why me? Why me? I was the prime of my life, under 40 and led a healthy lifestyle. I appeared to be not at risk. But then you see there are other people in the same boat as you. You learn that there's always hope."

Trudie-Ann Plamondon loves sports and also life.