Sally is a mom that has pushed harder than any other. She has suffered from others wanting her to give her son up for adoption, she recovered from a Traumatic Brain Injury from assault, shortly after that she was given grave news about breast cancer. After a vicious fight with metastasized breast cancer, Sally got the amazing news that she was cancer free March 21st, 2016. There is no other warrior like Sally. She is a mom of 4 amazing kids, Vinnie, Emily, Alli, and Gabriella. She is married to her husband, Elliot. Sally has a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College in Health and Physical Education, a Master’s degree from Cortland College in Physical Education with a concentration in Adapted Physical Education, a Master’s degree from Fresh Anointing Christian Bible Institute in Christian Counseling, and she has a Doctorate from Fresh Anointing Christian Bible Institute in Humanities. She enjoys running, dancing, kayaking, and playing outside with her family. Sally and her family have a small hobby farm and have raised ducks, pigs, horses, turkeys, goats, chickens, and rabbits. She is an active member of her church and dance team. Sally also participates in pageants and models in Victoria Henley’s Magnifique Shows. Sally loves to share her story, being in pageants and fashion shows gives her a voice to help share hope with people. Through her journey, her eyes were opened to the many truths about her kids being so proud of her and loving her no matter what. Sally stated that “this journey that God has planned for me is my purpose. I am thankful to be a mom. Being a mom is the very best thing I could ever hope to be.”
I have been a mom for twenty-five and a half years. My journey began when I was 21 when I had my first son, Vinnie, on November 12, 1995. When I was three months pregnant, his dad left me. He wanted me to give Vinnie up for adoption and said it was unfair to a child to only have a mom. Although I went through labor and delivery without his dad, I learned quickly that being a single mom was still amazing. My mom was there for me too and taught me to persevere. Vinnie was the greatest treasure that I could have ever imagined. He was a gift from God. I was attending school at Ithaca College to become a Health, Physical Education Teacher, and a Coach. Alone with Vinnie, I knew I needed to continue my education so that I could support my son. I graduated and got a job teaching and coaching. I enjoyed my job so much. Not just sharing life with Vinnie, but with my students. I empowered them to know they are a masterpiece and to give 100% to their life in every way.
One famous NFL coach, Vince Lombardi inspired both Vinnie and I with his drive to persevere. He believed in heart power. He said, “the quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence.” I was very happy that Vinnie embodied that in his life. He began to play football at 5 years old. I was always proud to hear the coach mention Vinnie’s hard work on the team. I realized though that people work hard and don’t always win. I wanted to show Vinnie and my students that hard work is worth it. I started joining in pageants to show my kids that dreams are attainable if you just don’t give up. Going from sneakers to putting on heels to walk the runway was no joke. My spirit had perseverance but lacked grace. With each pageant, I got a little better and my confidence grew. I got married and had my next child, Emily on December 2, 2000. She was wonderful. She was another treasure for me. My husband was an alcoholic and the drinking got bad. I continued in pageants and working hard to show my kids that life is great. On September 4, 2005, I had my third child, Alli. She was my next little miracle and just amazing! I love being a mom! Emily and Alli wanted to dance.
It was my childhood dream to be a dancer. With the girls, I began dancing again. It was so much fun! My husband continued drinking and made our life very hard. I had to make the decision to protect my kids and divorce. I wanted my kids to know that life can be hard but to keep persevering. The kids understood to keep running the race of life and God will hold us up. They were brave. I taught them no matter what family is important and your character does matter even when no one is looking. I married again a man named Elliot. We had another child, Gabriella, born on July 24, 2009. She was terrific and yet another treasure from God. Being a mom makes me whole and gives me a purpose to, “train my children in the way they should go.” (Proverbs 22:6).
We have always had fun. The girls started doing pageants, modeling, and dancing with me. Vinnie was always supportive and watched when he wasn’t playing sports or riding horses. In May 2014, I was assaulted by a student while teaching. A student threw a rock at the back of my head and I suffered a traumatic brain injury and I was unable to teach. It was hard on my kids and they gave me 100% of their love. In June 2015, I realized that I had cancer but I didn’t go to the doctors because I wasn’t sure how to tell my kids after going through a brain injury. In August 2015, Emily and I went to Connecticut to participate in the Petite America Pageant. Director, Kimberly and Queen Carol opened the pageant with a message from their heart about breast cancer and the need to do self breast exams as they both had cancer and recovered. As I sat there, I realized that small pea size lump in my right breast was exactly what they were talking about. God brought me all the way to this pageant to tell me go to the doctor because your kids need you. Kimberly made sure I saw the doctor and wasn’t afraid. So, after the pageant, I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer and BRCA 2.
It was aggressive and spread to my lymph nodes. My family and I planned my recovery party for April 24, 2016. I began treatment with chemo and a double mastectomy. I received a call on March 21, 2016 to tell us the good news that I was cured from cancer. Praise God! We had our recovery party. That pageant gave me the courage to know I had to be me and my kids got to have courage along side of me. I lost my hair and my breasts. I realized that I was still me. I didn’t need a wig to be a mom. With Kimberly’s encouragement, I was able to put my crown on with no hair on my head and spoke to many different groups about getting checkups, hope, and love. I believe that ” hope is an anchor for the soul” (Hebrews 6:19). God’s love for us is greater than we can ever imagine- even greater than our own love for our kids which is a lot. After recovery, we still,
participate in pageants, fashion shows, and dancing. I love to share our story like Kimberly and Carol shared with me. Being in
pageants and fashion shows gives me a voice to help share hope with people. Through our journey, my eyes were opened to the many truths about my kids being so proud of me and loving me no matter what. What I started to encourage in them has grown to a love for people and themselves. I’m thankful that they invite people into our lives and I love watching our family grow. We have so many people who care about us and that we care about from participating in these activities. No matter what happens, I am a mom to Vinnie, Emily, Alli, and Gabriella. As they grow, I am so excited to see their adventures and where life takes them. Being a mom is the very best thing I could ever hope to be. My kids teach me too. Moms do matter. Kids need their moms and moms need their kids. This journey that God has planned for me is my purpose. I am thankful to be a mom. Being a mom is the very best thing I could ever hope to be.
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