Roanoke: Robynn Jaymes Humbled By Support From Fans

It was all supposed to be funny. Robynn Jaymes had a skit planned for her "Pajama Jam" breast cancer benefit at Hotel Roanoke in October. The popular Roanoke radio host was going to have her WSLC Star Country co-host, Brett Sharp — a guy — hauled off from the women-only, all-night country music party. A security guard was going to slap a pair of pink handcuffs on Sharp and take him out.

However, according to Ralph Berrier Jr. at roanoke.com, something funny happened on the way to the pink pokey, however. When Jaymes took the stage, the pajamas-clad crowd inside the ballroom erupted in a standing ovation. They all knew that Jaymes had missed this party a year earlier, when she was hospitalized with acute pancreatitis. She was off the air for 10 months and had returned to her regular morning shift on Star Country 94.9 FM on Aug. 1. The Pajama Jam was her first public appearance since her illness.

Kyle Green photo

The crowd's reaction surprised her. She wasn't able to finish the skit.

"I started to cry," she said. "I wasn't ready for it. I lost my composure and I couldn't say the words. I was blown away by the response. I was humbled. I've learned so much about that word."

Four and a half months since her return to top-rated Star Country was featured on the front page of The Roanoke Times, Jaymes, 51, sounds just like her old self on the air, but she is still recovering from a serious illness. Pancreatitis is a severe inflammation of the pancreas, a gland that aids in digestion and releases insulin. Jaymes spent time in three hospitals — LewisGale Medical Center in Salem, University of Virginia Medical Center and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

"What a difference a year makes," said her boss, Leonard Wheeler, president of Mel Wheeler Inc. "A year ago, she was going through this horrible health situation. Today, she seems grateful with where she is in life. She doesn't seem like she has let it drag her down."

Jaymes has made many lifestyle changes. She had to give up food favorites such as red meat and pizza — "I came out of the womb asking for pizza," she said — and now eats a healthy diet of poultry, fresh fruits and salads.

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