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DAY SCHOOL
March 8, 2023
Reporter
Page 3A
Forsyth woman, 31, battles
rare form of aggresive cancer
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Ashley Bird of Monroe
County will start chemo
therapy this week, just a few
days before she celebrates
her 32nd birthday on March
15, for a very rare, aggressive
cancer. She’ll be spending the
week at the cancer center in
Augusta as she is given three
different drugs to combat the
cancer.
Ashley will receive the first
two drugs together over six
hours as she sits in a chair
and will then get the third
drug over four days through
a port.
“It’s a lot for my body to
handle,” she said. “I hope it’s
only three rounds.”
But she is optimistic that
the harsh treatment plan will
shrink the tumor in her face
and take the pressure off of
the nerves that have caused
her excruciating pain for the
last six months. Just having
a diagnosis and a treatment
plan brings her some com
fort after months of visiting
various doctors and trying to
find an answer to what was
causing debilitating symp
toms.
After a car wreck in
August, Ashley began suf
fering headaches and pain
that steadily worsened. In
October she could no longer
work at her job with Waffle
House. She is well known
in the community because
of her long tenure with
Waffle House and the close
relationship with customers
and fellow workers that has
created.
Ashley, known also as
“Birdy ’ started working at
the Waffle House in Forsyth
when she was 16. She grad
uated from Mary Persons
in 2009 and has continued
working at various Waffle
Houses in the area, except for
about six months when she
worked as a correctional of
ficer, long enough to decide
that wasn’t what she wanted
to do. Since 2015 she has
worked at the Jackson/I-75
Waffle House off exit 201
while also working relief
assignments at other Waffle
Houses within commuting
distance.
But now Ashley’s cancer
has taken her vision and
hearing on her right side and
is also causing her difficulty
in swallowing. It also causes
seizures. Although the tumor
is inoperable because of its
location, she said her doctors
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Ashley Bird of Forsyth is in
Augusta beginning cancer
treatment this week.
are optimistic they will be
able to control the symptoms
by shrinking the tumor
so that it no longer exerts
pressure on her nerves.
However, because the cancer
is so aggressive, rapid and
extreme rounds of treatment
are needed.
Ashley’s treatment is
planned for the next nine
months, with radiation
planned for five days/
week over seven weeks and
chemotherapy mixed in with
the radiation treatments.
Ashley and a supportive
family member will have to
stay in Augusta during these
rounds of treatment. She said
the cancer center is affiliated
with the Lydia Project House
and is working to arrange
for her to stay there while
she is in Augusta. For the
induction chemotherapy
this week, she is having to
find accommodations near
Augusta wherever she can.
Ashley said she loves the
outdoors and is always ready
to go on an adventure, espe
cially if it includes fishing and
hiking. She can’t wait to get
back to that life and to her
Waffle House family.
“I love my customers; that’s
why I do it,” she said. “They
treat me like family; they
make my day’
Her mother, sisters, ex
tended family and girlfriend
Summer have been very sup
portive of Ashley during her
months of pain and deterio
rating health as she searched
for answers and now as she
moves toward combatting
the cancer diagnosis.
“My mom [Tammy
Rafferzeder] has been my
rock,” said Ashley. “She and
Summer are taking care
of me. They are my main
support. The whole family
has been great in supporting
me. They are the reason I’m
getting through.”
Ashley said she will never
take her life or those who
have supported her for grant
ed. She is looking forward
to new life and a fresh start
when the treatments are over.
She said the social worker,
pharmacist and others on
her team at the cancer center
have been amazing as they
work together to create a
plan for her and adjust it
as needed. She said they
always call her back, usually
within an hour, to answer her
questions.
“I think I’m exactly where
I’m supposed to be,” she said.
“God has provided to get
through and to keep my faith
through it all. I’m taking it
one day at a time.”
Ashley does have a fear
that Waffle House policy
may cause her to lose her
insurance as her absence
from work keeps getting
longer. She will be able to
keep insurance through
COBRA, which allows a
person to keep the policy
they had through their
employer by paying both
their own and the employer’s
portion of the cost, but that
will cost her close to $900/
month. Currently, even with
insurance, she is facing the
costs of transportation to and
from Augusta, lodging, de
ductibles, co-pays and other
expenses while not working.
Ashley said she had never
had any major health prob
lems before the cancer, which
is very rare in the U.S., began
affecting her.
“It was completely unex
pected,” she said.
She is eager to begin
treatment because lately, she
has had more bad days than
good days. The rain and
humidity seem to make her
condition worse. She said us
ing humor and being a clown
seems to be the best way to
deal with bad days. She said
she jokes that as soon as she
can she wants to go fishing
in the ocean and catch a bull
shark so that she can ride it
and be riding a bull and a
shark at the same time.
“I look forward most to
getting back to being me, a
free-spirited person on the
go,” she said.
After being limited in what
she can eat because of cancer
affecting her throat, Ashley
said she is looking forward to
having a big, juicy steak with
a lobster tail on the side.
Ashley’s mother said any
one who would like to help
can help most by praying for
Ashley and her family. If you
want to help financially there
is a cash app QR code and a
goflmdme.com account at
https://gofund.me/87f91 e29.
Deposits can be made to
a donor account (Tammy
Rafferzeder or Ashley Bird)
at any United Bank location.
Cards can be mailed to 64
Higgins Mill Road, Forsyth
GA 31029.
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