Veronica Phelps

The first time I met Veronica Phelps she had me at her laugh--it’s an infectious high pitch giggle that seems to go forever and fills every room and every heart in it.   Veronica has worked for Serta Simmons Bedding since 1989.  From a Customer Service Rep to Plant Transportation Manager, she has helped thousands of reps and dealers successfully run their businesses. Every rep has called her before or after plant hours trying to find that one mattress piece that got left on the dock, lost on a truck or left at the wrong dealer.  She has answered every call. 

Now it is time for us to answer her call. Tragedy has struck and she needs our help.

In April 2018, Veronica became very ill. A colonoscopy was performed that showed a cancerous tumor in her sigmoid colon. The CT scan confirmed she had Stage 3 Colon Cancer and also showed suspicious nodules in her thyroid.  Her doctors wanted to tackle her colon cancer first, so in July 2018, she had a colon resection performed and went through 12 rounds of Chemo over the next 8 months.  She rocked the bald look and always kept a positive attitude even though she also has Lupus and Cirrhosis (caused by auto immune hepatitis) which made recovery and side effects delay her to return to work.  In April 2019, she began the LiveStrong Program (offered at the YMCA to cancer patients who have undergone chemo and need to build up their core strengths) with other survivors. She graduated at the end of June with an award for Perseverance. Her goal was to return to work stronger than before.

In June 2019, just before her return to work date in July for which she was anxiously awaiting, a CT scan and biopsy confirmed the nodules in her thyroid were cancer.  In July, Veronica underwent a complete thyroidectomy.  Doctors are also keeping an eye on a suspicious lymph node in her chest.  Veronica has not been released by her oncologist to return to work as of today, and she has been on disability since June 2018.  On Tuesday, September 24, 2019 Serta Simmons Bedding Company terminated her employment.
 
Veronica’s family has been managing finances through Dave’s continuous work and budgeting, but like many families struck by cancer, their savings are now gone.  With the news this week of Veronica’s termination, they will quickly fall behind on their mortgage and have already called the car payment agency for an extension on payments.  Their son Michael is happy and successful in 8th grade; grown daughter Amanda is living at home, working as a certified nail technician and has been instrumental helping her mom through this terrible time. 

Please help Veronica’s family with any donation you can.  If you are a rep, remember all those lost pieces she tracked down for you. If you are a dealer, remember all those last minute orders she snuck on the truck for you.  If you are a friend, help alleviate the financial pain that cancer has on her family. If you are a believer, believe in Veronica and her strength to get through this horrible time with the laugh that we can’t live without. 
Thank you for considering a donation!