experienced anything like that.
Her friend said, “I haven’t, but my grandmother did. It was
breast cancer. She died from it. You need to get that check
out, right away.” It was a sobering conversation. By then, the
big wedding, Temple’s opus, was just two weeks away.
“She had survived breast cancer and has made it her
life’s mission to see to it that other women survive breast
cancer, too,” Temple said. “I reminded her that I didn’t have
insurance. She said, ‘We might be able to find you some
help.’”
It was that friend who found Careity and texted Temple the
contact information. Still, she struggled to get up the courage
to call. “I’m used to doing for other people,” she said, “I’m
not use to asking for help.”
Her friend continued to press her to call. “I kept saying, ‘I
have this wedding to finish, then I’ll worry about the boob.’
She said, ‘Now. You need to take care of this now.’ Finally,
I called. Beverly (Branch) answered. She asked me some
questions. I answered them. Then, she approved me over the
phone. My jaw dropped.”
Temple told Branch about the wedding she was handling
and asked, “Don’t you think I could wait until I finish with the
wedding?” Without hesitation, Branch said, “No Ma’am.”
Temple burst into tears.
“I suddenly got so emotional that someone was going to
help me,” Temple said. “I couldn’t believe that I was getting
help. That they didn’t run me through the ringer. These
people were going to help me. This was on a Thursday. I was
in having my diagnostic mammogram on Monday.”
The doctors didn’t like what they saw on the
mammogram. “They immediately sent me straight over for
a sonogram,” Temple said. “The tech didn’t like what she
saw so she got the doctor. That was on a Monday and I was
getting a biopsy by the next Thursday.” The biopsy came
back as “Abnormal Tissue.” The next diagnostic she had
was a Thermal Mammogram. “They could see the blood
flowing in that duct,” Temple said. “Mine was a spontaneous
bleeding.” Temple’s diagnosis was that she had a very early
stage of breast cancer.
Temple kept thinking, “Why are they all in such a hurry?
Can’t this all wait until after the wedding?” The answer was
always, “Ah, no.” Temple had two surgeries in one day.
“Solis in Weatherford did the duct removal and
then I went to Weatherford Regional (now Medical City
Weatherford) then they removed the abnormal tissue,” she
said. “That is probably not the medical term for it. Everyone
that worked with me was wonderful from the people at Solis
to the hospital to everyone in my doctor’s office and especial
my surgeon, Dr. Amy Gunter.”
She had taken the day off for the biopsy. “I thought I
could use the rest of the day to work on the decorations,”
Temple said. “But they said, ‘No. You need to rest.’”
The best, of course was the people with Careity. “If it
wasn’t for them I would probably be on my deathbed right
now,” Temple said.
The woman she works for called Temple into her bedroom
one day. She said, “I want you to go into my safe and get my
will.” Temple located it. She told Temple, “I want you to find
out what I need to do and how I need to word it to leave my
estate to Careity. Without them, I wouldn’t still have you in my
life.” Temple was overwhelmed.
The question remaining is, how did the wedding go?
Temple’s smile is radiant, “I pulled it off without a hitch,” she
said.
I worked for her for five years, but now I do home health
for her and now I take care of her whole household.
I felt like that was my calling. She is 76-years-old. In
January, it will be two years that her boyfriend died.
She is now weak and frail and no longer drives.
She was hustling trying to get her neighbors and friends
to donate to Careity. I have many, many talents. I can do so
much and I want to give back. n 817-882-4100
www.careity.org 43