Here at KW Cares we’re blessed to hear the stories of KW family members who have been touched by our grant program. One such recipient is Lindsey Woods, who’s just starting her cancer journey. Below is her story, in her own words.
My name is Lindsey Woods
I’m a 37-year-old wife to Ben and mom of three awesome daughters – Charli (14), Valerie (11), and Lucy (9). I joined the wonderful world of real estate a little over a year ago as the Director of Operations for Top Tier Home Team with Keller Williams Legacy Group in Cedar Rapids, IA. Our team is a small and mighty one, and we’re excited to have added two more agents at the end of last year to help contribute to some exciting goals we have to serve our clients in 2024!
Unfortunately, my life took a sudden change of course in November 2023 when I received a very unexpected diagnosis of an osteosarcoma tumor in my right femur – a rare type of bone cancer that doesn’t typically affect adults my age. I had been experiencing some mild pain and weakness in my right knee on and off for a few months and finally decided to go to the doctor to have it checked out the week before Thanksgiving. What I had assumed was just a symptom of getting older quickly escalated into a much more serious situation after an x-ray followed by an MRI provided some pretty sobering results.
Thankfully my doctor acted quickly to get me a referral to see an orthopedic surgeon the week after Thanksgiving, which then led to several more scans and tests to determine just how serious this diagnosis was. We were extremely grateful to learn by early December that no other areas of cancer were found in other bones or major organs! This news gave us the gift of time – time to consider all of our options for treatment, make a trip up to the Mayo Clinic for a second opinion, and most importantly, time to celebrate the holidays with our girls and families.
I already knew that Keller Williams as a whole is an amazing company with values and a mission to care for people that made me overjoyed to work for from day one of joining my market center and team. What I didn’t know was just how incredibly blessed myself and my family would be by this company when facing such a life altering circumstance as a cancer diagnosis.
My wonderful Team Leader, Jenna, jumped at the opportunity to share with me about the KW Cares grant program after learning of my diagnosis. I couldn’t believe that something so generous existed, and of course I knew we might need to consider applying if my treatment plan involved taking several months off from my full-time work schedule and regular income. The application process was very thorough, yet straightforward, and once completed I couldn’t believe how quickly it was approved and the grant money was delivered!
In fact, my husband and I were in the middle of my first three-day, in-patient hospital stay for treatment when we received the great news that our application was approved. The relief it provided instantly brought tears to my eyes! This massive financial blessing will not only take a weight off our family for the next several months to help provide income and a way to cover some of my medical expenses, but also the space to focus on my treatment plan in the best possible way physically, mentally and emotionally.
To anyone who has experienced a health diagnosis like cancer or of other significant magnitude, my full heart and empathy goes out to you! My family and I have seen in the past couple months just how important our support system is – people who love and want to walk alongside us in this battle, our employers who have reassured us over and over again that our jobs are safe, and most importantly our faith in God who we know without a doubt loves us and has a plan far bigger than a cancer diagnosis or what several months of chemo, surgery, and overall recovery will entail.
Thank you to KW Cares for being such a huge part of making that hope a reality in this journey I’m on!!
–Lindsey Woods
How You Can Help
If you know a KW associate like Lindsey, please send them our information. We want to make sure they have what they need, and they can apply online at kwcares.org/grants.