‘I am the storm:’ HOW honors Mandy Childress
“The Devil whispered in my ear ‘you’re not strong enough to withstand the storm.’ Today I whispered back ‘I am the storm,’” and that’s exactly what Mandy Childress is, The Storm.
Helping One Woman’s (H.O.W.) Porterville chapter hosted a full house at the Ed Flory Veterans Memorial Building on Wednesday night, where dozens of people gathered to celebrate and honor Childress.
In October of 2010, a tumor was discovered in Childress’ left breast. After receiving an ultrasound, Childress was officially diagnosed with breast cancer. Childress underwent nine rounds of chemotherapy, with five of the strongest chemo medications permitted. She then went on to have a mastectomy on her left breast. During her mastectomy, Childress had seven lymphnodes removed, and was subsequently pronounced as cancer free.
In 2013, Childress discovered she carried the Brac1 gene through genetic testing. This gene lets doctors and patients know the patient is at a higher risk for multiple types of cancer.
Because of this discovery, Childress opted to have her right breast removed as well. She also underwent a hysterectomy, which eliminated a few types of cancer she could’ve been diagnosed with.
In May of this year, Childress, who was living in Texas at the time, went to the Emergency Room thinking she had appendicitis. It was determined it wasn’t appendicitis, but something much more daunting. Childress was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer. She had 13 feet of her intestines removed and part of her stomach.
Childress was told there was no cure and her prognosis was slim.
So, Childress decided it was time to come home to get a second opinion. However, no oncologist was willing to see her because of insurance reasons. Her only other choice was to get on Hospice in order to manage her pain and live comfortably.
On Wednesday night, Childress was all smiles as she floated from table to table greeting everyone who came with hugs and warm words. She individually thanked everyone for coming, and was moved by the outpouring of support from the community.
Childress’ co-sponsors, Sheina Williams and Christina Johnson, were excited to finally see Childress honored at a H.O.W. dinner.
“Sheina and I both wanted Mandy in this, so we kept putting her name in,” said Johnson. “I’ve seen everything (Childress) has really gone through. I’ve hung out with her when she’s been sick. Truth of the matter is, I’ve seen where she’s been, completely down. I’ve always accepted her into my home. I just really, really love her, and she’s a great personal friend.”
Williams echoed some of the same kind words Johnson shared about Childress and their reasoning behind becoming co-sponsors, and shared some of her passion for the H.O.W. cause.
“(Childress) is a sweetheart,” said Williams. “She deserves it. She’s an awesome person. She has cancer and I want to help. I want to help this whole organization all the time now. This is what I want to do now, every month. She’s a sweet person, and she needs the money. I just want to do this all the time now.”
Childress appreciated the nomination from her two co-sponsors, and will use the funds raised in her honor to put towards her day-today life and transportation costs to and from her medical appointments.
“I’m honored,” said Childress. “I was a little confused at first. I had never heard of this program before. I’ve been having a lot of problems since this all started and I have nothing coming in right now. I am feeling very blessed.”