BENTONVILLE -- Sharae Allen had worked at The River Grille Steakhouse for a little more than four months when she learned she had acute myeloid leukemia.
It was during the following weeks and months in 2017, filled with a mix of terror, confusion and heartbreak, that she learned something else -- her employers and her co-workers had her back. She credits the support she received from the owners and staff of the restaurant and the support of friends and family with helping to save her life.
With 20 years in the restaurant industry, Allen said she'd always been independent, a wanderer. Then she decided to come to Northwest Arkansas, where her father and mother had settled in Bella Vista. She said she's certain God put her there so she could weather the coming storm.
"I was a gypsy so I traveled," she explained. "I didn't know anyone here. The people here at The River Grille became my family."
When Easter rolled around Allen was about to start chemotherapy, but all she really wanted was to have family photos taken with her husband, Jasen Allen, and two children, complete with Easter baskets. The folks at River Grille stepped up and took care of everything.
"Mostly I wanted family pictures before I lost my hair," Allen said.
Then it was meals and car rides and daily texts that helped to keep her spirits up. The staff also contributed to fundraisers and other activities supporting Allen and her family.When her condition worsened and Allen went to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston she didn't worry, even though her husband had recently lost his job. She knew the co-workers at the restaurant would keep an eye on them and would take them hot meals.
"When I was gone these folks stepped up," Allen said. "I knew my family always had food."
Acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, is typically found in older adults, according to data from the American Cancer Society. It estimates there will be more than 60,000 new cases of all types of leukemia in 2018, with more than 19,500 of those being AML. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society estimates there are more than 363,000 people living with or in remission from leukemia in the United States.
According to Cancer in the Workplace, a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squib, when asked how confident employees are that their employers would support them if they were diagnosed with cancer and during a period of illness up to one year, three-quarters said they were confident or very confident. The response was higher in larger companies with revenue more than $500 million.
Of those employees who said they were not confident, they cited fear of not being seen as a valued employee any longer and almost half said they were concerned they would lose their job. The report surveyed 500 executives from around the globe.
Eddie Bateson, Sharae Allen's father, said he was stunned by and grateful for the employees who stuck by his daughter during her illness.
"It's simply unbelievable," he said.
Brenda Swango, a managing partner at The River Grille Steakhouse, said Allen's bubbly personality made her an instant hit with her co-workers when she started with the waitstaff. The River Grille Steakhouse, which opened in 2000, employs about 25 people.
"We call her our Sharae (Sha-ray) of sunshine," Swango joked.
She said while Allen worked for the restaurant for only a short time before she was diagnosed it didn't matter because the staff was and is tight-knit.
"We were already a family by then," Swango said.
Allen said her cancer has been in remission since October but she said the chances of full remission are typically low with AML. She still faces weekly blood tests and more intensive testing every three months. If all goes well, it could take her about a year for her health to return to normal.
For now she's hoping to rest up and get back in shape. Eventually, she'd like to get back to work.
"She's always welcome here," Swango said. "I need a restaurant manager."
SundayMonday Business on 03/18/2018