When Crowns & Cancer Collide

Journey

Walk us through your pageant journey — where did it all begin for you?

Pageant Journey began when a friend dragged me into Mrs. Oregon International 96…. I said sure why not try it once right? She helped me get myself a suit and a green gown. I wore a red dress for our opening number given to us by a sponsor. I honestly looked like a duck walking out on stage in evening wear. I had no idea how to walk other than slowly. I really had no coaching except to practice with books on my head. I didn’t win anything at all. 

The next time wasn’t until 2004 after my second marriage and I entered the Mrs. Oregon America pageant. I took home the coveted Directors Award which was selling the most ad pages. I soon found myself entering another Mrs. pageant only this time it was the United Nations Pageant in Savannah Georgia. My first time on a national stage as Mrs. Oregon 2007. 

I was officially a pageant veteran at that point. No seeds won but came home with a Crowning Moment…. I could do better and I could be better at this with more work. So I took on another title as Super Mrs. Oregon 2011. 

How many crowns have you earned, and which one holds the most personal significance to you and why?

I have earned 10 crowns in total so far and I intend on taking two more. I learned so much with this pageant about myself, who I competed with and learned from their attitudes as a contestant. To always hold myself accountable as a title holder, my personal behavior and the importance of being a good leader. 

Was there a specific crown that felt like a turning point — a moment where you thought "this is bigger than me"?

My turning point was when I decided to go Full Out and to TAKE a national crown. I was determined that my next pageant I was going to win no matter what. So I purposefully made clothing decisions. Like my sportswear outfit saying Survivor across my chest. Where the judges could see it. I was bald and kept my head that way during my reign to prove I was deserving of the title. Fun Fashion was Kentucky Derby style, my interview suit non-traditional. I rehearsed every single day walking and practicing. Speaking to know my words by heart and to bring my loud voice regarding cancer. 

This was my crowning moment and I WON!!! I also won Photogenic and Fun Fashion. This title is my most coveted crown I’m proud of at this time.

Do you feel the crowns validate you, or do you feel you validate the crowns?

The crowns do not validate the person I am, they have only shaped me into the better version of myself. #Sheflysonherownwings— Each crown has led me to the next in some capacity or another. The first was just that, literally dragged into it, lol The drive to do more community service which I had already been doing. I have a special needs daughter so we’re involved with OSO. I grew in knowledge of charity work and what it means to get involved. I soon became a cadet parent and volunteered with the sheriffs office. I was also able to work with our county commissioner on community service projects.

The Woman Behind the Crown

You've competed and won while carrying an incredibly heavy personal story — how did pageantry become part of your healing?

I didn’t compete while I was in my worst health because I couldn’t. I was attached to a TPN which fed me. However after my hubby died I decided to compete again. I needed something to take my mind off of losing him. I was devastated that I lost the love of my life.

 I talked my daughter into doing this with me (her first pageant) and we both swept our divisions taking home the national crown. 

This one is my most coveted and memorable pageant.

Did you ever compete during a season of your life when you were still in the middle of your health battles? What was that like?

No I haven’t competed while at my worst I couldn’t physically do anything. 

Her Story of Survival 

Can you walk us through your near-death experience with your birth defect — what was that like to navigate as a woman? 

 I’m still in my battle and I have ongoing health related issues to deal with. two foot surgeries in four years with treatment every 28 days never stopping. Scans yearly unless I’m having trouble then scans are more often. In all this I’ve also been in six different car wrecks all not my fault whiledealing with illness and death. As a child I didn’t know about being a death sentence. My parents remember quite well, especially my Dad. He stayed at his job 3 years longer just to keep health insurance on me because at the time it was the best Oregon had to offer.

He says he could have bought 3 Rolls Royce’s on just my medical costs alone. I didn’t know until I got to be an adult and by then I kinda took it for granted. I was still sick even after having a radical hysterectomy at the age of 23.

 It took five doctors and over a year of pain with bleeding to get that surgery done. I had a period of time when I seemed to be free of pain until one it felt like I walked into a brick wall. Extreme pain with no diagnosis and pills forced on me by a healthcare system/professionals that blatantly ignored my symptoms. 

How did receiving an end-stage cancer diagnosis shape your perspective on what truly matters? 

 Years later being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer really threw us for a loop. My doctor  gave us roughly 2-10 years. Suddenly life is flashing around me. The illness turned my life upside down and then I used it to benefit and strengthen society’s perspective about a cancer diagnosis. How it doesn’t have to be as devastating as it seems. Every day matters and my family matters the most. 

What do you want people to understand about the sacrifices military families make, especially when a parent dies from a service-related illness? 

I want more people to be aware that sacrifice does go unnoticed when it shouldn’t. Freedom of Speech came at a hefty price for many military personnel and their loved ones. That the families suffer just as much as the service person does sometimes more. We can never forget them.