Woman thankful for second chance

Amanda Rosso, 26, diagnosed with osteosarcoma, may go back to college now that she’s done with a year of treatments.

By: Linda Seida
   WEST AMWELL — As many of us sat down last week for a Thanksgiving meal, gobbling up turkey and stuffing and topping it all off with pumpkin pie, we gave thanks for many things.
   Some of us were grateful for family and good friends. Others were grateful for good jobs or good health.
   Amanda Rosso of West Amwell gave thanks for a second chance at life and for the kindness of family and strangers alike.
   "I realize that one day can change your life," she said.
   Mrs. Rosso, 26, recently completed almost a year’s worth of chemotherapy in a battle against osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. Doctors delivered the diagnosis last December after she complained of knee pain.
   Her oncologist recently gave her a very optimistic thumbs-up.
   "I had a really good outcome," Mrs. Rosso said. "The oncologist has removed the cancer completely from my knee."
   She has traded in her weekly trips for treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York for monthly visits for scans to be sure the cancer is vanquished. It is hoped that those results will be negative, and after a year, the scans will be spaced bimonthly.
   The evening before Thanksgiving, Mrs. Rosso shared her list of blessings.
   "I am thankful for my wonderful husband, who had a lot of patience with me and drove me every day into the city and sat with me in the hospital and encouraged me not to give up," she said. "He was strong when I was weak.
   "My beautiful 2-year-old daughter, who would sit by my side and tell me she loved me and missed me every day.
   "My family and my husband’s family, friends, neighbors, even people I didn’t even know were there for me to talk to and willing to give a hand. Everyone was extremely helpful and kind. I am really thankful for them. It helped me get through this difficult time and made me feel I was not going through this awful time by myself."
   Friends, family and total strangers attended a fund-raising breakfast Nov. 7 at the West Amwell Fire Company in Mount Airy.
   "It was very successful and raised over $10,000," said Norma Zimmerman of East Amwell, Mrs. Rosso’s aunt who coordinated the event.
   The money helped offset the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Mrs. Rosso and her husband, James, a patrolman with the Hopewell Township Police Department.
   Mrs. Rosso said, "We had a great outcome at the fund-raiser. My aunt knew what to do. Everything was so organized, and it definitely helped us out. She is an angel sent from above to be so thoughtful. I cannot thank her enough.
   "I was really surprised to see so many people there both that we knew and didn’t know. I could not believe that so many people really cared and wanted to help. It really meant a lot to me."
   Mr. Rosso was born in Lambertville. Mrs. Rosso, who was born in Flemington and grew up in several municipalities throughout Hunterdon County, spent three years in office management at Fisher Scientific in Somerville. The couple graduated from South Hunterdon Regional High School, where they became sweethearts.
   The completion of her chemotherapy treatment marks a turning point.
   "I feel that God has given me a second chance in life to do what I want to do," Mrs. Rosso said. "And I would love to go back to college and pursue a job in elementary education."