LAFAYETTE, Colo — For the second time, Centaurus High School students helped a local nonprofit prepare special handmade heart-shaped pillows for breast cancer patients and survivors.
"I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 41. I received the call on Christmas Eve 2015. I had just gotten married June 2014," said Jen Willard, founder of the nonprofit JWILL Pink Village.
Willard is a breast cancer survivor and 2019 Denver7 Everyday Hero recipient. She and her nonprofit provide heart-shaped pillows for breast cancer patients after they undergo a mastectomy. The pillow can be strapped onto a seatbelt, making it more comfortable on a person's chest.
Students at Centaurus High School in Lafayette stuffed 400 pillows on Thursday. Staff members and parents who survived breast cancer were also in attendance to help stuff the pillows.
Lindsay Plampin is the attendance coordinator for Centaurus High and a breast cancer survivor. Her son, Billy Plampin, is a senior at the high school.
"Around this time last year, I found out I had breast cancer for a second time. The first time, I had a lumpectomy and then radiation, and this time, I had a bilateral mastectomy to get rid of the cancer," said Lindsay, "I'm cancer-free now."
"My mom is my rock. She's always been there for me. To have her be able to say that she's a survivor is just really amazing because it shows her character. She's always been a fighter, and she really beat this one," said Billy.
Senior Austin Bray and his mother, Tiffany Bray, also participated in the stuffing event on Thursday.
"I was diagnosed a little over a year and a half ago. I was diagnosed because I did a self-exam, and I found the lump. Before I went into surgery, these pillows just showed up. I had no idea where they came from. I don't know who sent them to me. It's just, there were angels watching over me," said Tiffany.
"It could be one of my peers' mothers, or it could be somebody I've never met before, it doesn't really matter who it is. The point is that it's helping somebody who went through the same thing my mom did, and she survived. I think it's great for us to be able to pay that forward," said Austin.
The stuffed pillows will be sent to volunteers, who will sew them shut. The final touch on the pillow is a tag with a message of love and support, letting the patients know they are not alone.
Willard hopes her nonprofit will one day go out of business due to a cure. In the meantime, she plans to provide hearts full of support to as many breast cancer patients as possible.
"I'm living my dream, not only living my dream as a survivor because I got a second chance at life, but I'm living my dream to be able to give hopefully hope to others," said Willard.
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