WOOD RIVER - Renee Strowmatt has helped the community as an OB nurse at Alton Memorial Hospital for years. Now, she needs some help in return.
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Strowmatt was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Her family will be hosting a benefit from 6–9 p.m. on Oct. 6, 2024, at the Wood River Moose Lodge. Community members can enjoy a DJ, karaoke, a buffet and raffles, all for a great cause, at “Goodbye Earl: A Night Supporting the Strowmatts.”
“I’m most looking forward to seeing all of the people that are really kind of standing in the gap for me and my family,” Strowmatt said. “This has been a completely unexpected experience and diagnosis, and we have had so many people rally around us from my family, my friends, my work, my church and people within our community.”
Strowmatt explained that she found the lump accidentally and almost brushed it off, but felt in the pit of her stomach that something was wrong. As a lactation consultant and breast specialist, she was already passionate about helping women advocate for their health. She was suddenly advocating for herself, as she had to push for an earlier appointment to receive a mammogram and biopsy.
After the diagnosis, Strowmatt sat in her office at AMH and decided she needed to give the tumor a name. It had to be “ugly”; it had to be something she could say goodbye to. Strowmatt landed on “Earl,” named for The Chicks’ song “Goodbye Earl,” which she used to “jam out” to as a teenager. The reference still makes her laugh.
“The Earl thing is pretty lighthearted because I think that the way you approach hard times is important,” Strowmatt said. “I think if you allow yourself, you can really get down and depressed and scared and anxious, and all of that is a tactic that will only kill you faster.”
“Goodbye Earl: A Night Supporting the Strowmatts” will bring this sense of humor and community together on Oct. 6. Tickets cost $25 for adults and $18 for children 12 and under, and all of the money from ticket sales and the raffle will go back to Strowmatt, her husband and her three children to offset medical costs.
“It’s just a way for everybody to give back to Renee because she’s such a giving person and does so much for others,” explained Kaci Beatty, Strowmatt’s sister-in-law, who helped organize the benefit. “She deserves it. She would do it for any of us in a heartbeat.”
Beatty noted that Strowmatt’s career speaks for itself. Strowmatt “literally grew up” at Alton Memorial Hospital, starting at age 15 as a volunteer in the OB unit, then working as an OB nurse before transitioning to her current role as a nurse educator. It’s more than a job to her; she loves helping people.
It feels strange to be on the receiving end of that help now, but Strowmatt is thankful for the “incredible outpouring of love.” She noted that this diagnosis has been a challenge, but her Christian faith, her loved ones and her sense of humor have kept her afloat.
“We’re not exempt from hard days, and when those hard days come, if you allow yourself to get sucked into that black hole, it’s really hard to come back out of it,” she said. “My family is not a stranger to hard times. We’ve had some crazy things happen in our past…Finding the joy in the hardest days is really important.”
That joy will be evident at the benefit. And Strowmatt has one last piece of advice for everyone out there: Prioritize your breast health, and stand up for yourself as needed.
“Make sure you know yourself and feel your boobs and call your doctor if something’s out of line,” she said. “It’s so important to know your breasts. You need to know what is normal. You need to know what is abnormal and when something is not normal. You need to tell your doctor, and then you need to advocate for yourself.”
For more information about the “Goodbye Earl: A Night Supporting the Strowmatts” benefit, to buy tickets or to donate, click here or visit the official Facebook event page.
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