Culpeper teacher recovering

Pearl Sample Elementary School teacher Kellie Baker was resting at home Friday following her inpatient breast cancer surgery earlier this week.

Inside of her sunroom, Kellie - donning a dark pink shirt with a light pink cap - enjoyed a colorful assortment of mums collected by the Pearl Sample faculty and staff to brighten up her mood once she returned home.

Next year, the family, which includes her husband, Kevin and their two children: 10-year-old Griffin, and 8-year-old Raegan, plan to plant the flowers in the yard.

The 37-year-old, who teaches fourth grade, underwent a double mastectomy Tuesday at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville.

She found a lump in her left breast last year after conducting a self-examination.

"I'm feeling well," said the bubbly educator Friday morning.

The three-hour surgery began at 1 p.m. Tuesday. And Kellie was able to leave the hospital by 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Kellie said she has a follow up appointment scheduled Friday where she'll receive a pathology report regarding her recent surgery.

After Tuesday's operation, Kellie said her doctor informed her that she took an "aggressive approach" to prevent further concerns.

Her surgeons cut two small incisions and said "everything looked great," according to Kevin, who shared that information with close friends after the operation.

While in the recovery room, Kevin gave his wife a copy of an article in Tuesday's Star-Exponent titled, "The Power of Pink" where the entire population at Pearl Sample wore pink or something close to it in a show of support for Kellie's surgery.

"It was such a neat thing to see," Kellie said Friday morning, as she giggled over the telephone. "It definitely lifted my spirits. It was wonderful."

Kellie is due to return to Pearl Sample on Nov. 30.
And her students are looking forward to her return. They're planning a Halloween Party that same week.

Over the next several weeks, Kellie faces four more rounds of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation treatments, she said.
After returning home Wednesday, Kellie said she walked around her neighborhood with Kevin, who teaches business classes at Culpeper County High School.

"I feel really good," she said. "The pain isn't as bad as I thought it would be. The more I get around the better I feel."

Rhonda Simmons can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 125 or .