By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Nothing is impossible. The word says I’m possible.
Whether it was the intention of the gift giver, or merely a coincidence, the woman sitting in front of that small black-and-white wall plaque exemplifies the mantra’s sentiment.
“I’m hoping to be able to work through this,” Bonya Scott said as she sat behind her paper-ladened desk in the Barren County Detention Center, a place where she’s worked since 2018. “I’m crossing my fingers.”
Scott was diagnosed with aggressive and invasive triple-negative breast cancer less than a month ago following a mammogram at T.J. Health Pavilion in Glasgow.
“[Dr. Michael Saridakis] said ‘as you know we got your results back and unfortunately…’ as soon as he said that I don’t think I heard anything else,” she said Tuesday.
“I remember the nurse saying ‘take as much time as you need’ and I remember sitting there with tears going down my face and looking at my daughter [who] said ‘okay we’ve done this once, it’s a little worse but we’ve got this momma,” she added in a wavering voice. “I think we sat there 10, 15 minutes and I decided I can either sit and feel sorry for myself or I can get up and fight.”
Scott went to the hospital on Aug. 18 and got a port put in that allows them to administer chemotherapy. Two days later, she had her first five-hour treatment that’s become a staple of her, at least, next six months worth of Wednesdays.
Scott said the community support since the diagnosis has been incredible. A fundraiser is planned at the jail for Sept. 12, and a family friend is selling tee shirts through social media, both of which will help pay for her treatment expenses.
“I’m blown away. It’s amazing to have this kind of support system,” Scott said. “I mean I knew I had my kids, but this has been amazing. Knowing that people are pulling for you…is a big part of what gets you through.”
Perhaps counterintuitively, what scares Scott most isn’t the cancer itself, but the fear that her five children might put their lives on hold to help her.
“I’m a single mom of five kids,” she said. “I’ve got two out on their own with their own children, but I have two still in college and one at home so my income is it…. I guess my greatest fear is that my kids won’t be able to finish college. I don’t want them to feel like they have to quit school and come home and I’m afraid they’ll do that thinking they’ll put college on hold, come home, work and take care of mom.”
“My goal is to be able to do treatments and still work,” she added.
Scott urged all women to get checked out by the professionals. In her case the first indication that she had cancer came from Dr. Saridakis’ diagnosis.
“Go get your mammogram,” Scott said. “Yes it hurts; yes it’s uncomfortable, but it could very well be the thing that saves your life.”
The Barren County Detention Center is hosting a fundraiser for Scott on Sept. 12 at the jail on Samson Street. Beginning at 9 a.m. they will serve shoulder and hotdog plates, which includes chips, cookies and canned drinks, for $10. Proceeds will go towards Scott’s treatment costs.
