We had the good fortune of meeting up with Rose Fama Hankins at the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market on Yanceyville Street yesterday. Rose was combining buying fresh vegetables with a photo shoot. Rose works at Moses Cone Regional Cancer Center, scheduling appointments for cancer patients and is an inspiration to all who know her. Each spring for the past eighteen years, Rose has led a medical mission to the Philippines to provide medical supplies and medical procedures to people who otherwise would go untreated. Rose and her volunteers- most of whom are medical professionals in the Greensboro area- travel to Leyte to care for those in need. To date, her non-profit "Worlds Apart One Heart" has helped over 35,000 people on this small island comprised mostly of fishermen and their families.
The last few years have not been easy for Rose. First, she lost her father in 2018. Also, May 3, 2019, just after returning from her medical mission, she had a mountain bike accident. She was biking on the Blue Heron Trail in Greensboro and wrecked, breaking her neck. She credits the masterful, quick thinking of her friends Wilt Johnston and Margaret Hood with saving her life. They knew to keep her still and Wilt had the wherewithal to help the EMS find them on the trail through GPS coordinates. In that one minute, Rose went from being extremely physically fit and traveling the world to not being able to feel her mother holding her hand in the emergency room. As Rose regained her strength, she found herself sitting with her mother for her cancer treatments. Unfortunately, Rose's mom lost her battle with cancer, May 2020. This profound loss and the physical challenges were especially hard during the pandemic.
Rose explains that we grow through these life-changing events and she is determined to recover her physical strength. To be sure, nobody in her condition can out exercise Rose! In spite of her bodily pain, numbness, and other physical challenges, she remains optimistic and is eternally grateful that she has such good friends who have helped her on her road to recovery. Her biking group "Fish On Wheels" recently gifted Rose with a new tricycle that she uses to help regain her strength. Also, the accident led Rose to photography. She really has an eye for composition and interesting details in a scene. She has even started taking photos of people and their special events. After two years, Rose has worked her way back to full time at the Cancer Center. She is convinced that, through it all, she is a better version of herself. May 2022, she will again lead the medical mission to the Philippines and visit her mother's grave for the first time. The journey will be emotional on many levels, but Rose reminds us we owe it to ourselves to become the best versions of ourselves which is most likely achieved by helping others. Indeed, she is an inspiration and just look at that smile!
Rose's medical mission to the Philippines is "Worlds Apart One Heart Inc". See the Facebook page if you want to learn more, volunteer, or donate.
She's had real adversity. Excellent portrait.
Posted by: Wiiliam Kendall | Sunday, June 27, 2021 at 08:52 PM