Brenda Elsagher was minding her own business, tending to all the customers at her busy Minnesota beauty parlor, when she had got a pain in her butt that changed her life.
Later, she would note that the awful things that transpired immediately afterwards helped to make her dreams come true — and helped her craft a new career as a stand-up comic — but back then, there was nothing funny about what happened.
Elsagher will share her comedic insights on facing life’s biggest challenges as the keynote speaker Saturday at the second-annual Healthcare Conference for Women being held at the Conference Center Niagara Falls by Mount St. Mary’s Hospital of Lewiston.
Elsagher’s life went into a dark tailspin when she was diagnosed with cancer of the rectum. Pretty quickly after that she underwent a permanent colostomy, a hysterectomy and the removal of her rectum.
“It was a shock. I was thirty-nine years old,” she remembered. “I knew thousands of people and no one had ever talked about having cancer of the rectum. Bowel talk was just not in my experience.”
The absence of conversation about such things, helped her to decide she was going to go public with her experiences.
“I decided to act as if it was the same type of thing as having a tumor on your arm,” she said.
She re-examined her life and looked at the dreams she hadn’t had a chance to reach. Topping the list was a desire to be a stand-up comic.
Elsagher entered and won “Twin Cities Funniest Person,” contest, beating out 150 other people. When a reporter asked her if she ever did any public speaking, she lied and said yes. The next week she got a call from a church and was asked to speak.
“The doors just kept opening and I just kept walking through the open doors,” she said.
She now works full time as a writer and speaker, talking to a wide variety of humans about her experiences facing life’s challenges. Every talk includes a two minute “commercial.”
“I tell people to get their butts checked,” she said, chuckling.
Her presentation will include free books provided by her from her publisher, either “I’d Like to Buy a Bowel Please” and “If the War is Over Why am I Still in Uniform?”
The day will open at 8 a.m. with registration and a continental breakfast. Elsagher will speak at 9 a.m. There will also be a fashion show and a wide array of health displays and information. Registration is $15 and advance registration is encouraged.
At 10:15 a.m. there will be a cooking demonstration by Chef Eli Hoffman of The Conference Center and Debra Hoffman, a nutritionist from Mount St. Mary’s. There will also be a makeover by The Barton Hill Hotel and Spa; wine and chocolates by Village Wine Tours of Lewiston and Lindt Chocolates of the Fashion Outlets; tai chi by Leslie Svensson; Sherwin Williams paint information with Laura Sexton; Esteem LeMystere bra fitting by Melissa Hawkins and Kathy Qualiana; floral arrangements by Lorelie Luther from RD Woddykins Creations; and knitting by Jenice Hillman.
At 11 a.m., participants will be able to select from a series of five programs: “Color-Rectal Health,” “Moving Through Menopause,” “Spiritual Health” “Fitness Health and “Sleep Health.”
There will be a luncheon and fashion show at noon spotlighting fashions from stores at the Fashion Outlets Niagara Falls USA.
The information sessions and demonstrations will be repeated in the afternoon with the addition of a session on “Infection Prevention and Treatment.”
Before the conference adjourns, everyone in attendance will be eligible for a special raffle from AirTran Airways.
Throughout the day, non-profit agencies from the Niagara community will have displays along with numerous clinical departments of Mount St. Mary's Hospital.
For reservations or information, call 298-2697 or 298-2146. Reservations are limited.
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