Southold resident Danielle Harrison-Meraz learned life’s hardest lesson last month: Take nothing for granted, for everything can change in a heartbeat.
Before the day last month when she suddenly couldn’t use her hand to put on makeup, she had no hint of the tumor growing in her brain. She thought whatever was wrong with her was temporary and waited for it to go away, but it didn’t. She landed in the emergency room and found herself whisked off to Stony Brook, where doctors found the inoperable malignant tumor. The cancer, they determined, had originated in her lung and spread to her brain and spleen.
At 53, Harrison-Meraz has never smoked and was stunned by the diagnosis. Doctors blame exposure to second-hand smoke, she said. She worked in restaurants and bars years ago, when the indoor air was often filled with tobacco smoke.
“We all were at risk, unknowingly,” she said. “Who knew?”
Following her diagnosis just before Christmas, Harrison-Meraz underwent a course of radiation treatment and is now gearing up for aggressive chemotherapy, which she’s set to begin next week.
Today, she focuses on enjoying life in the moment, spending time with family and friends.
“Be grateful — always,” Harrison-Meraz tells everyone. “Count your blessings.”
Harrison-Meraz says she is humbled and uplifted by the outpouring of support from the local community. Friends and strangers alike have come together to help raise money to defray her expenses.
She has limited insurance and has not been able to work.
“I have always worked,” Harrison-Meraz said. “It’s awful not to. The community has become my extended family. I’m eternally grateful for the outpouring of love and help,” she said.
Wendy Zuhoski had T-shirts made emblazoned with words that have become Harrison-Meraz’s mantra: “Be Grateful. Always.” Zuhoski is selling them at her North Road, Mattituck deli. Danielle Volinski had bracelets made imprinted with #TeamDanielle. Those are also available for sale at Wendy’s Deli.
On Saturday, Feb. 6, Yogurt Expressions on Main Road in Mattituck is hosting an event being organized by Kait’s Angels to help Southold resident Danielle Harrison-Meraz, who was diagnosed about a month ago with lung cancer that has spread to her brain and spleen.
The yogurt shop is donating ice cream and yogurt for the event, which will be held from 3 to 10 p.m. Free-will donations to benefit Harrison-Meraz will be accepted.
Yogurt Expressions owner Sue Orioli reached out to Kait’s Angels in the hope of helping the group, founded to do good works in memory of Kaitlyn Doorhy, a Mattituck college student with a heart for helping others. Doorhy was killed in an accident while way at college in Connecticut in August 2014.
Kait’s Angel’s cofounder Molly Waitz, Doorhy’s friend at Mattituck High School, had worked with Harrison-Meraz at Roy Reeve Insurance in Mattituck. After Waitz heard of her former coworker’s illness — Harrison-Meraz now works for Cross Sound Ferry — Orioli contacted Kait’s Angels to offer her yogurt shop for a fundraiser.
“We’re closed for the winter and I thought this would be a good way to use our inventory,” Orioli said.
Another fundraiser is in the works on Feb. 21 at the Greenport Fire Department. That event will take place from 1 to 6 p.m. and will feature live music by Yankee Rebel, a 50-50 drawing and a chinese auction. (Suggested donation: $25)
Harrison-Meraz grew up in Greenport and is the mother of three adult children and grandmother of six — with another on the way. She lives in Southold with her partner of 22 years, Melvin Hubbard.
She is draws strength from her strong faith. “God isn’t out of miracles,” she said, “and I’m in his hands.”
Contributions to help Harrison-Meraz may be made by check payable to “Friends of Danielle Harrison-Meraz” and sent to Bridgehampton National Bank, P.O. Box 1567, Southold, NY 11971. One hundred percent of the funds will go to assist Danielle. Online donations may also be made on the GoFundMe website, where friends have set up a fundraising page for Harrison-Meraz.
