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Kathy Teetsel's Fun Photos
Kathy passed away on December 1, 2008 in the company of her friends and family.
We loved her and we miss her. I believe she is now in Heaven.
We had a celebration of KT's life at the Danversport Yacht club, Danvers, MA on December 5, 2008. Over ninety of her friends and family came to share the moment.
Her friends and family also brought over 100 new, cuddly teddy bears for the annual RE/MAX Advantage Real Estate Teddy Bear Christmas Drive that KT had organized for the past 10 years. The joy these stuffed animals bring to struggling children is immeasurable.
If you wish to send a donation in her name, please send it to:
Mass General Hospital
Lung Transplant Program
Attn: Dr. Ginns
55 Fruit St, Cox 230
Boston, MA 02114
The Toughest Person I Have Ever Known
I have known Kathy for 21 years and during that time I have learned much about her. Let me share a story with you.
World Heavy Weight boxing champion, Rocky Marciano, and Big Joe Green, the Pittsburg Steelers? Hall of Fame Defensive Tackle had one thing in common. They were tough. They could hit and take a hit.
Over the years, I have learned about tough. I will tell you about the toughest person I have ever known, a 5 feet 4 inch, 115 pounds optimist who had a warm smile, a caring personality and a love of life. Her name was Kathy Teetsel. We called her KT, the nickname she chose in order to eliminate any name confusion with my wife, Kathy, on our team.
I first meet KT in 1987 when my wife hired her as a real estate assistant because she was very organized and knowledgeable. By then, KT?s bronchiectasis, a debilitating lung disorder, had worsened and prevented her from continuing her career as a RE/MAX agent. KT assured us her disorder would not hinder her performance and she could work around the constant hacking cough. I could not imagine how she was going to answer the phone or make outgoing calls. I felt my wife made a bad hiring decision. KT proved me wrong.
Days turned into weeks, months and years and we became friends. However, her lungs continued to deteriorate. In order to come to work each morning, she would lie across her bed, head on the floor and cough for 45 minutes to clear her lungs. She would then get dressed and go about her day. She repeated the same process each night before retiring. Periodically, she was off to Mass General for various procedures, x-rays, medications, IV?s, pokes, probes and testing. Questions about the medical visits usually resulted in a clinical description of what occurred, a laugh, a smile and then back to work.
By 1992, her bronchiectasis worsened to the point she could no longer work. KT told us she needed a lung transplant to survive and she was put on oxygen. During her 3 year wait for a donor, medical technology improved dramatically which greatly improved her survival odds, but her condition became grim. She weighed 85 pounds and had minimal lung capacity.
We had an office party a few days before she left for Mass General in order to lift her spirits and share some hugs. The only optimist in the room was KT. She knew the transplant was going to be a success.
After convalescing, she returned to work in 1996 with an even stronger love of life. For her, every day was a great day and nothing could change that. Not the 40 pills a day, not the continued trips to Mass General, not the set backs or the poking and probing, not the needles or IVs or what ever else her medical team threw her way. She just smiled, shrugged it off and asked, ?how can I help?.
KT loved to travel with her family and friends and loved her pets. She became involved with the transplant community and participated in the Transplant Olympics. She was a gold medalist in 2006.
By 2007, the mountain of drugs she had taken over the years caused the growth and spread of cancer in her body. She and her doctors agreed on her treatment plan. After her surgery and recovery, she returned to us, the same good natured, strong willed person we knew. Some days she would be sporting an IV and fanny-pack filled with Chemo and on other days she was free of the paraphernalia.
We all laughed about her ?Chemo Brain? and we just worked around it. The mixup in property addresses, names or dates and the emails to the wrong people became a source of humor. We joked, we laughed and we had a good time.
We were all determined to get past this. And She started to improve. But then there were complications. In July and August of this year, she started to experience shortness of breath. None of us expected her body to start rejecting her lungs after 13 years. As KT?s lungs degenerated, she fixated on getting up each morning, getting dressed and coming to work. This simple act became her standard for winning.
On Friday, November 21, KT called my wife and said she could barely breath, was exhausted and could no longer work. She explained that her doctors told her 2 days earlier that her body was rejecting her lungs, she would not improve and there was nothing else they could do for her. There were a lot of tears that day. That was the day KT checked herself into Mass General. We visited her, we laughed, we hugged and we shared a few stories. On November 25, KT?s transplant physician, Dr. Ginns, referred her to the Kaplan House, a beautiful Danvers Hospice with a wonderful, caring staff.
With a smile and no regrets, KT accepted her fate. Her fight was over.
She deeply enjoyed the visits with her many friends and family members and shared stories and memories with all.
Her parents, her brother Dave, her sister Judy, her dog Buddy, her friend Maggie, my wife Kathy and I were with KT when she passed away.
In the 21 years I knew KT, she never complained about her health. When I asked how she was feeling, which I did almost every day, she would say ?Great or really good or OK?. OK meant she felt poorly. But, even on her OK-days, she always smiled and had a positive attitude.
KT was determined to enjoy life and she did. She always had an indomitable spirit, a buoyant optimism, a caring personality and friendly smile.
KT had the heart of a champion.
KT was the toughest person I have ever known.
I thank KT for the life-lessons.
I loved her and I miss her.
I am sure she is now in heaven.
Terry Sullivan, Friend
RE/MAX Advantage Real Estate
Beverly, MA
KT Was The Heart Of Our Team
Terry called her tough, and she was, but I saw her as the heart of our Team. When I met KT, she not only had a chronic illness but described herself as "terminal" to me. In 1987, in order to have a double lung transplant you had to have a heart transplant as well. She said "no thanks, I'll take the slow route."
Being an Occupational Therapist before I was a Realtor, I was not uncomfortable with her health issues. We worked with it and around it. Her organization, knowledge, positive attitude and outstanding client care made her a valued and needed employee. On the SullivanTeam, Terry is the analyist, I the marketer and negotiator, Andrea, our Buyer's agent and KT, the glue and the heart that kept it all together and running smoothly. Her transplant was a miracle and she kept the team humming for 13 years after that.
She was positive, creative, thoughtful, helpful and cheerful---mostly helpful and cheerful. Even during her year- long fight with cancer, she always wanted to help others more than she would ask for or allow others to help her.
KT was my right hand and a friend. The mutual loyalty and respect was very strong.
Ten years ago, KT met a woman in Ipswich who started The Teddy Bear Drive Foundation, Inc to collect and bring bears to unfortunate children at Christmas time. After 9/11, the Teddy Bear Drive Foundation, to which we contributed, lost it's funding but KT said "let's do it anyway and deliver the bears ourselves." WE DID and SHE DID deliver them all-- usually by herself. So, in KT's honor and memory, we will continue the Teddy Bear Drive annually and hopefully, you will all help us.
KT will be missed by many, many people. She touched and improved the lives of many as we have assisted over 1,100 people buy and sell homes. We are all better for having known her. May she rest in peace.
KATHY SULLIVAN, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Advantage Real Estate on the North Shore
RE/MAX Advantage 10th Annual Teddy Bear Drive
KT's transplant was a miracle and she kept our Team humming for 13 years after that.
She was positive, creative, thoughtful, helpful and cheerful---Mostly helpful and cheerful. Even during her year long fight with cancer, she always wanted to help others more than she would ask for or allow others to help her.
KT was my right hand and a friend. The mutual loyalty and respect was very strong.
Ten years ago, KT met a woman in Ipswich (Robin Phelan) who started The Teddy Bear Drive Foundation, Inc. to collect and bring bears to unfortunate children at Christmas time. After 9/11, the Teddy Bear Drive Foundation, to which we contributed, lost it's funding but KT said "let's do it anyway and deliver the bears ourselves." We did and she did deliver them all-- usually by herself. So, in KT's honor and memory, we will continue the Teddy Bear Drive annually and hopefully you will all help us.
KT will be missed by many, many people. She touched and improved the lives of many as we have assisted over 1,100 people buy and sell homes. She will be missed-- but many people are better for having known her.
Kathy Sullivan, Friend
RE/MAX Advantage Real Estate
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