Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 25, 1991 TAG: 9102230282
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
When his wife, Catherine, came out to sing sweet and funny love songs from Broadway shows, they clapped again, after each one.
And when she sang "Wind Beneath My Wings," in which the singer says she received the glory while her partner got the strain, people cried.
Clearly, something was going on - something more than a mere Valentine's Day concert.
A clue came from the composition of the crowd - a sprinkling of students and many older people who have known the Breskes, or known of them, for years.
They were people who had stood by them through thick and thin - and who were delighted to have the chance to enjoy their talents once again.
On Christmas Eve 1989, after a few days of memory lapses, Paul Breske was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Catherine was pregnant at the time. They were in Hampton, at her parents' house. They left the next day for Roanoke, while their three children stayed behind.
After consultation, they were referred to Presbyterian University Hospital in Pittsburgh. After a quick flight and more tests, they received the news: Paul's tumor was malignant and inoperable.
They returned to Virginia. Paul, 51, underwent six weeks of radiation therapy at the Cancer Center of Southwest Virginia in Roanoke. He had good times and bad after that as he struggled to reduce his intake of steroid drugs, intended to control swelling in his brain.
On Valentine's Day 1990, Breske collapsed. He wouldn't open his eyes. The drugs were increased and he improved, but he still spent much of his time in bed.
In the spring, a shunt was placed in Breske's skull to relieve pressure on his brain.
"That's when he really started to come out of all this," his wife said. But even now, some days are better than others.
Breske came to the Virginia Tech music department in 1969. From 1972 until his illness, which prompted his retirement on disability, he was arranger and conductor of the New Virginians, the university's song and dance troupe.
He also spent many years as conductor at the Miss Virginia pageants in Roanoke. He is a quiet sort, uncomfortable in the spotlight. Friends say Catherine is the one with the spark.
She enrolled at Tech in 1971, and liked it so little she almost transferred after her first year. But she returned in '72, the year the New Virginians were created. She auditioned, was accepted and stayed on to graduate with a degree in marketing and then to sing with a road band for two years.
In 1977, Catherine married Paul, a dozen years her senior. They now have four sons, from 9 years to 9 months old.
The Breskes don't talk much about the future. That, they say, cannot be predicted.
But they do talk about the support they have received from friends - members of Blacksburg churches and clubs and friends they've known for years.
When Catherine was pregnant during Paul's illness, friends took turns driving him to Roanoke and back for his radiation therapy.
After her youngest son was born last May, meals showed up regularly at their house.
People took her children to day care, school and soccer practices.
More than sympathy was at play. As one member of the audience put it, the Breskes are "such a giving couple. . . . They've really been generous with themselves and their time and talent." It stood to reason that people would want to do something in return.
"Most of these people were friends," Paul Breske said moments after the Valentine's Day performance. It felt good to accompany Catherine again (he also performed at a Virginia Tech Christmas show), but it was still "a little scary."
"I don't have the same ability and confidence that I had before."
Catherine said ongoing tests show no new growth in her husband's tumor. It may have been destroyed, or it may be dormant, or it may be growing too slowly for the testing equipment to detect.
One woman told Catherine Breske she was happy that Catherine had "such a nice accompanist."
"It's a miracle," the woman added. "Praise the Lord."
Later, Catherine said that day to day, "You can't do anything about your situation except cope. You keep coping. You cope."
Paul said God "promised he wouldn't give us more than we could bear, and it's true. It'll all work out for the good."
Keywords:
PROFILE
by CNB