Friends seek support for ailing mother

By Sam Harvey
Staff Reporter

Diagnosed with cancer once, twice, and now for a third time, her friends remain optimistic that she will once again recover. But in the meantime, Parkinson — and her five children — have faced considerable hardship.

She’s a single mom, friends pointed out, and chemotherapy and radiation treatments have weakened her to the point that she hasn’t been able to work much over the past year. Adding one more log to the fire, she was recently involved in a car accident and presently has no transportation.

Parkinson’s staying in the Clarksville area, with best bud Michelle Porter, but Porter’s apparently in a rather tenuous position herself. Also a single mother (with two children), she’s trying to provide some semblance of accommodation for both Parkinson’s family and her own, in a modest, three-bedroom home.

A nearly impossible situation, but people are helping out.

In mid-October, locals Stephanie Hoy and JoAnn McMahan started up the “Make it for Mandy” campaign, canvassing the community for support. They’ve opened an account at Delaware National Bank as a pool for donations. Anyone interested in supporting Parkinson’s cause can make checks payable to “Make it for Mandy” and mail to any Delaware National branch (locally, P.O. Box 349, Ocean View, DE 19970).

“Right now, she’s tired — she’s in chemo again, just trying to get through the holidays,” McMahon reported.

“She had a good bill of health back in June or July,” she continued. “But because she was still recovering, she was only working part-time, through the fall.”

With work all but out of the question, Porter said, Parkinson’s bills are stacking up. And while she, Hoy and McMahon are providing the carpool, Porter suggested any help getting Parkinson some transportation would fill an immediate need.

“We’re doing alright as far as food, but we could really use some help with the utility bills,” she said. And she thanked the folks at the Bear Trap golf course for sending along some Christmas presents for the kids this year — last year had been pretty sparse, Porter admitted.

And they’d received some assistance from St. Peter’s in Milton, she said (Parkinson had been renting a house there), and from local churches (Mariner’s Bethel), but were still facing a gap.

Hoy and McMahon are organizing a benefit dinner, scheduled for Friday, Jan. 27, at the BayCenter (Dewey Beach). McMahon said they’d arranged for the Grease Band to entertain and would put out an appetizer buffet and hold a silent auction.

They’re requesting a $75 donation per person, and Porter suggested any auction items would also be greatly appreciated. For information, contact Hoy at (302) 537-5292 or McMahon at (302) 541-4840.

“This is how God puts people in your life,” Porter said. “I started out helping Mandy, now Stephanie and JoAnn are helping me — and I couldn’t do it without them.”

Porter has taken an incredible step in her friendship with Amanda Parkinson and her family. Again, while things remain upbeat around the house, they’ve started preparing for all eventualities — and she plans to formally adopt Parkinson’s children if that time should ever come.

“It’s a lot to think about,” Porter admitted. “But she’s just such an awesome person, and we’re alike in so many ways. She doesn’t complain, she just wants to live, be healthy and raise her children.

“And she’d do the same thing for me, if I were in her situation — she wouldn’t hesitate,” Porter concluded. “She’s just been through so much — she’s been through hell. It’s up to God now, and mostly what she needs is prayer. That’s the only thing that’s going to get us through it.”