San Clemente Residents Gather to Battle Cancer

 Inviting scents from a warm kitchen welcomed family and friends of Elaine Gjonovich to Gina Cousineau’s home this weekend.

They gathered Saturday to support Gjonovich in her fight against bile duct cancer; flowers and donations in Gjonovich’s name came through the front door all evening.

Gjonovich was diagnosed with cancer in September. She has since had major surgery, lost her gallbladder, and gone through aggressive chemotherapy sessions.

Gjonovich and Cosineau have a close bond; it was Gjonovich who held prayer meetings in support of the Cosineaus when their 9-year-old son, Evan, was diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy, a genetic metabolic disease.

Now, Cosineau is returning the support.

Still looking as healthy as ever, Gjonovich said she feels like God has given her a free ride through a disease that could potentially be much more debilitating.

With chemotherapy there were ups and downs she said, but she still continued her active lifestyle.

Theresa John, a friend of Gjonovich, recalled hikes even in the midst of chemotherapy.

“Elaine would still kick my butt,” she said.

Eric and Theresa John are among Gjonovich’s close friends who faithfully gather Thursdays for encouraging prayer at the Gjonovich home. John credits Gjonovich’s incredible physical appearance and emotional strength to fitness, prayers, and support.

Recently, Gjonovich’s situation has taken an encouraging step forward.

She had been ensnared in a bureaucratic nightmare; her insurance company had refused to pay for what could be a lifesaving procedure.

Over the past few weeks Gjonovich’s determination and tireless phone calls to lawyers and her insurance company paid off when she received the phone call that her denial for the beneficial procedure had been overturned.

“It really is a true miracle,” said Elaine’s husband, Richard Gjonovich. 

Ultimately, Cosineau's son Evan lost his life to his disease. The Cousineau family created a donor foundation and club in Evan’s honor, the same entity that's helping out Elaine Gjonovich now.

The Be a Hero, Become a Donor foundation is dedicated to “giving HOPE to patients and families in need,” according to the foundation's website, www.bahbad.org. “We want everyone to have hope,” the Web site states, and finding donor matches through the match registry is a way to give that hope. 

Evan’s older brother, Derek, is president of the Be a Hero, Become a Donor club at San Clemente High School. The club and foundation encourage people to donate blood regularly and join the Marrow Registry. 

On Wednesday the club will be hosting a blood drive from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at San Clemente High School. Cousineau will be at the drive and encourages everyone to come out and start donating blood, even if this will be the first time.

A local organization, Beach Angels, donates monthly to San Clemente causes. In March they plan to donate “a little over $1,000,” to Gjonovich through the Helping Hearts for Friends Organization, said Beach Angels founder, Sharon Gonzalez.

“The tragedies in life will continue, but what will you do about it?” Cousineau said.

Donating time, blood, marrow, and funds are all actions that give hope in the midst of tragedy, she said.