April Dunlap

Symbol for ovarian cancer (google images)

Not many people know April Dunlap unless you live in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, but lucky me - I get to know April Dunlap as more than just a friend. I’m her son Cody Dunlap; she is like a hero to me and many other people because it’s like she didn’t even change, besides the physical appearance, and one mental and that is she is lightened up and is having fun. The reason I think she is like a hero is because she is brave through everything, still is strong in her faith with God, doesn’t let the cancer get her down, still helps with the 4-H Goat Club, FFA, and family. She is strong too because she is still working while going through everything, and doesn’t ask for help.

My mom is brave because when she was first told about having ovarian cancer it didn’t really bother her but she broke out in tears once in awhile. What makes her really brave is that most people keep the news in the family about how things went for that week but she didn’t. Every Thursday after her treatment she would shoot out an email telling everyone in the mail, the church, the 4H goat club, her friends and put it on her Facebook. The thing is it didn’t just help her it helped others to because people couldn’t wait till Thursdays to come because mom would have fun about it. She would call her chemo a cocktail because it would give her energy because of the drugs they use. But that’s the nice thing about it; even though she has cancer she has fun with it and didn’t let it get her down in the dumps. That’s why I think she is brave.

April didn’t leave her faith when she found out. She didn’t say God why me, why now. She used it as a way to tell people about God and how he is working in her. She uses the verse found in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plan I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give hope and a future.” That helped her a lot because you don’t have control in what happens to you, only God has control. All this does is challenge your trust in your faith. Instead of leaving and being mad, she stayed and was happy. That’s how I see that she didn’t leave her faith.

When I say strong I don’t mean like lifting weights. I mean like mentally strong. April is still working at her job and she comes home and does work around the house. Which tells me, and probably to other people, that cancer isn’t stopping me from living my life; it will take more than that to take me down? She isn’t one to ask for help so it is like you have to ask her or just do it. I have seen that she as lightened up about everything. She is laughing about stuff that normally she wouldn’t. She is getting quicker at her comeback in jokes, which is good definitely in our family.

I guess I should say she is still devoted to helping out the FFA, 4-H Goat Club and her family. She still makes it to the 4-H Goat Club meetings each first Thursday of the month. She will come after she is done with her treatment and talk to the kids and play games with them and quiz them on their pairs of people to events, or taking pictures of the kids when they're at events or showing their animals at the fair. She still helps her family by, if we would need something, she would stop what she is doing to help us out and like if they would need something made out of card stock she would make it because she likes like stamps and does stuff with craft work. This is why I April Dunlap is my hero and many other people’s hero.