SAUGUS — Kathy Barressi LaVoie said when her sister, Jackie Landry, opened the front door to her Saugus home Saturday afternoon, she only expected to see her daughter and two young grandsons waving from a safe distance across the front yard.
Instead, Landry was greeted by a parade of more than 50 vehicles filled with well-wishers congratulating her on completing her sixth — and final — round of chemotherapy.
“She had no idea. She just was on the front steps waiting for her daughter and grandsons,” Barressi LaVoie said. “She was so happy and overwhelmed.”
Landry received her cancer diagnosis in October 2019. Friday was her last treatment, and her daughter, Mary Gen Collins, said she wanted to give her mother a special surprise.
“It was huge. They filled the Anna Parker (playground) parking lot,” Collins said. “I wasn’t expecting all those people. I was expecting a lot, but not that much. There were cop cars, a firetruck, construction vehicles. It was really awesome.”
She added that the family was also overwhelmed by the stunning display of community support.
“Seeing all the signs and watching everybody showing love and shedding tears, it was so powerful,” said Barressi LaVoie’s son, Rodney LaVoie. “Especially during this tough time of quarantine.”
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has made the last several weeks particularly trying for Landry and her family.
Because her cancer treatments mean Landry is immunocompromised and at greater risk of being seriously affected by the virus, her loved ones have been forced to keep their distance while she battles the scary diagnosis.
That means no more family dinners, visits with grandchildren, or any other kind of in-person contact.
This new normal has been especially hard on Barressi LaVoie, who said she and her sister have had an unbreakable bond since childhood.
“We’re very, very close. We lost our parents when we were young, when she was 18 and I was 19,” she said. “Me and Jackie, forget it. We’re inseparable.”
Even though she isn’t able to physically be with her, Barressi LaVoie said she and her sister — who she described as “the kindest, sweetest (person)” — talk on the phone multiple times a day. She also frequently cooks for Landry, leaving the food on the first floor while the two talk through Landry’s open third-floor window.
“She needed this,” Barressi LaVoie said of the parade. “I’ve been so shocked by how brave she is. She’s amazing.”
She added it’s the simple things she misses right now.
“I can’t wait until we can hug each other. Just be together. Reminisce about everything. It’s just so hard not to be able to do that,” she said. “We just want everyone healthy. We want everyone to be together again.”
