Help Amanda Beat Cancer

Our amazing daughter, sister, and friend Amanda, was recently diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma breast cancer at the young age of 31.  This is an aggressive type of breast cancer that requires her to have a double mastectomy and chemotherapy. This news was a complete shock as Amanda is an otherwise healthy and active person. No signs or symptoms were present, until a routine self-exam found a small lump. Upon checking it out with her doctor immediately, the test came back positive. All of us were completely shocked. No one was expecting a cancer diagnosis.

Ever since she was a young girl, Amanda has had boundless energy. She loved running around and finding new things to do. It wasn’t long until she was showing her passion for caring for other younger children. Soon, she started expressing two goals. One goal was to become a mother.  Her second dream was to start her own business and to become a daycare provider for those families in the Rhinelander area that need high quality child care. So, for 12 years she has worked. Worked towards reaching the goal of providing a safe and enriching environment for those children in the community. Even while raising her young son Teagan, she dedicated countless hours towards licensing her business and becoming fully accredited to provide the most enriching and stimulating environment possible.  Amanda is a tireless worker and pours her whole heart into Teagan and those children that she serves and cares for every day.

Amanda’s business, Tiny Tykes Daycare, is her pride and joy.  After obtaining the property of the original Tiny Tykes site, she was beaming with pride. Her dream was becoming a reality. Amanda worked night and day to renovate and create a calming and ideal environment for love and learning. It didn’t take long for her business to be a success. Soon, the parents of her daycare children were becoming family. Holiday parties and special events were always filled with excitement. From making crafts to learning new songs to developing social skills, Amanda’s daycare children were always excited for more. Through it all Amanda’s smile and laugh was infectious. Her spirit can light up a room. And her enthusiasm for the business was unparalleled. She truly loved her job.  She was truly proud of her accomplishment. Then last spring, she was forced to relocate.  While the news was difficult to take, she did all the work necessary to get the new site renovated, re-certified and evaluated for safety, licensing, and to ensure that she was meeting state qualifications. It took several months and lots of unexpected costs, but she never gave up. This business is more than just her paycheck. This business is her passion. Just a few months after reopening and bringing in her children, she received her cancer diagnosis.  Now she worries not only about her own health, but also about her ability to provide for her son.  She will face both financial and physical challenges as she struggles to support herself, her son, and the children she cares for.

We’re asking for help so that Amanda does not have to choose between her own health and the care that she provides to her daycare kids. This financial assistance will be used to keep the utility bills on the building current and to provide help while she will have to take some time off. The daycare is her only source of income.

Amanda is a giving person and has never been one to ask for help herself.  So, we have stepped up to tell her story.  Amanda would appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and acts of kindness, but we know that she has other concerns as well. We ask those of you who are able,  to  make a monetary donation to help with her  financial burdens during this difficult time. We have set up this page as a way to do so.  Any assistance you can give will ease her mind so that she can focus more on her own health. 

If anyone can take on this fight, it is Amanda. Even if you can’t donate, we ask you to come together and do what you can to help her.  In just the short time she’s been diagnosed, she has amazed me with her strength, perseverance, and upbeat attitude moving forward in fighting this awful disease. Amanda has always worked to help others. Now it’s our turn to step up and ease her burdens and worry she goes through this emotionally and physically grueling time.

Thank you for your love and support for Amanda! Please share with friends, family, and anyone else that cares about her.

Yours truly,

Amanda’s family and close friends.