Newly married, Seth Peters and his wife, Sarah, had recently moved to the Outer Banks from Virginia Beach in March 2018. They moved so Seth could work with his brother in his pool business. Like any newly married couple, they were just getting settled and established. Then Seth found a sore in his mouth and life changed for Seth and Sarah.
After visiting a dentist and an oral surgeon, Seth was diagnosed with bone cancer of the jaw. It was recommended that he go to UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill for further evaluation and treatment. Although Sarah continued to work at the Days Inn-Mariner in Kill Devil Hills, the young couple struggled to pay their bills while traveling back and forth to UNC. The physicians treating Seth felt that because his cancer was so rare he should stay close to the hospital during treatment. What followed included three rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, and more chemo followed by radiation. During the surgery to remove his jaw bone, a bone was removed from Seth’s leg to create a new right jaw.
Although the young couple had tried to make it without asking for help, knowing that Seth would have to stay in a hotel in Chapel Hill while Sarah traveled back and forth to work, meant the time had come to ask. Sarah’s boss, Tess Judge, had mentioned the Outer Banks Relief Foundation earlier so they decided to apply. The Relief Foundation agreed to help and provided the money necessary for Seth’s expenses while staying in Chapel Hill.
“I got very lucky. Without the Relief Foundation, I would not have been able to do the things I needed to do. I am doing good because of them.”
Today Seth, once a professional musician, is back at work teaching drum lessons and working in the pool business. Although he describes life today as a new normal, he says he cannot think of anything he once enjoyed that he cannot do today. That includes going to the beach and concerts, and Seth’s favorite, eating good food. As Seth said, “We had a heck of a first year of marriage,” but they made it through thanks to the Relief Foundation and the generosity of their new community, the Outer Banks.
