RV--Is It Refuge or Eyesore? : Land use: A cancer patient living in a motor home must find other quarters. Neighbors have complained she is violating the law.

Linda Fisher, 41, has battled adversity all her life.

When she was 3 years old and living on her parent’s farm in Wisconsin, a haymower sliced off her left leg. In 1980, Fisher was diagnosed as having ovarian cancer.

But the last few months of her 10-year battle have undoubtedly been the toughest. Her mother, who was caring for Fisher, died of lung cancer in July. And since September, when she underwent an ileostomy--a surgical operation to create an artificial opening in the stomach so intestinal contents can be discharged in a plastic bag--Fisher has undergone seven major surgeries.

Fisher, who said she has lost 140 pounds during the past 18 months, spends almost all day attached to an IV in her home--a recreation vehicle parked in the driveway of her cousin’s house on Calle Borrego in the Alto Capistrano area of San Juan Capistrano.

Now a controversy involving the RV has become the latest source of Fisher’s troubles. Concerned that the RV in their neighborhood is a potential eyesore that could lower the value of their $400,000 home, two neighbors complained to the city’s planning division that Fisher’s cousin is violating the city’s land-use ordinance that prohibits people from living in recreational vehicles in a residential area.

City officials say they are sympathetic to the amputee’s plight and have given her until Aug. 27 to find another home.

But Fisher says she has nowhere to go and that any other living arrangement would sap her energy and rob her of her chances of surviving.

“I’m not happy about causing problems for people, but I don’t think I’m hurting anybody,” Fisher said.

Fisher said the RV is an ideal home, considering her physical limitations, because it allows her to maneuver and perform her daily tasks. With the IV attached, she can still get to the refrigerator or go to the bathroom unassisted.

Fisher, who stopped working in 1981 and is living off $600 a month in Social Security benefits, lived in Laguna Beach for three years before moving to the neighborhood with her RV last March. The house where her vehicle is parked is occupied by a cousin, Jean Maxey, a retired nurse who has cared for Fisher during the past three years.

The couple who complained to the city (they asked that their names not be used) said they sympathized with Fisher but were concerned about the value of homes in the neighborhood.

“They’re turning the neighborhood into an RV park,” the wife said. “How can they do this to their neighbors?”

The husband complained that “there’s no reason for her (Fisher) to get special treatment. . . . This is not an emotional thing. She is flagrantly trying to circumvent the law. All I want is for the law to be enforced appropriately.”

Not all the residents want Fisher out of the neighborhood.

“Why pick on her when a lot of (residents) stretch the ordinance,” said another neighbor. “There’s really no way of telling that the little lady lives there (in the RV).”

San Juan Capistrano Mayor Gary L. Hausdorfer said he sympathizes with Fisher’s plight.

“As far as I am concerned, she can stay where she is,” Hausdorfer said. “Every now and then we need to show a little heart and soul.”

But Tom Merrell, city planning manager, said his department had to act on the neighbors’ complaint. He said he was aware of Fisher’s problems and issued a temporary-use permit which allowed the cancer patient to live in the RV until Aug. 27.

“It’s a kind of no-win situation,” Merrell said. “This is a special case that warrants compassion, but compassion for one person is removal of protection for others.”

Fisher said she would feel restricted if she has to move.

“I don’t want to be in a sickroom,” she said. “I would hate to be bedridden. If I have to live life half-way normal, I want to be able to help myself.”

Maxey said she had planned to move the RV to the side of her house, out of the neighbor’s sight. But that would mean moving a retaining wall and a contractor estimated that would cost about $20,000.

Even if the contractor donated his labor, which he has agreed to do, Maxey said it would be too expensive.

“I want to live, and as long as I’m willing to keep fighting, I want help,” Fisher said. “If you take the RV away from me, you cut off my lifeline.”