First I am going back 15 years to May 27, 1995.   Sandi was a college freshman at Wallace State University and on the Universtiy Dance Team. We were both at home for a weekend full of weddings for high school friends.  On her way back to college that night, Sandi lost control of her car going around a sharp curve in the road. 

She flipped the car many times and it ended up upside down in someones front yard.  The lady that ran outside was a nurse.  She called 911 for a Life Flight helicopter, she knew Sandi's injuries were life threatening.....for my parents, that was a late night knock on the door that no parent ever wants to get.

To make a long story short, Sandi had a Traumatic Brain Injury and a broken collar bone.  She spent 2 weeks in a coma.   When she came out of it she had lost 6 months of memory. She went through almost a year of extensive physical therapy and rehab.  She  learned to walk again, drive again and even started back to school while still in therapy.  After a full recovery from an almost fatal accident, she went back to school at the University of Alabama and graduated with honors.

Now moving forward 15 years to May 2010......
Sandi is 33 years old and has been married to her husband JJ since January 2007. She graduated with her Master's Degree in professional counseling in August of 2009.  She finally found a job as a mental health professional counselor working with at risk teens and their families in December of 2009.   Everything in her life was perfect.

The end of April she started having some very sharp head pains with a "whooshing" sound in her head. On Friday April 30th she drove home from work, got out of her car, and her left leg would barely function.  She got herself in the door, up the stairs, and knew that something was wrong.

Sandi called her doctor on Monday, May 3rd and they immediately set an appointment for the following morning.  That is a day that will forever change our family and everyone who knows Sandi.

They did a CT scan, found a brain tumor the size of a lemon between her frontal lobes and immediately put her in the ICU for fear that she would have stroke or seizure.

On Thursday May 6, 2010 my sister had brain surgery.  The Neurosurgeon removed as much of the tumor as possible and closed off the blood vessels that were feeding the remainder of the tumor.  We were very hopeful at this point.  Later that afternoon the doctor sat down in a conference room and told us the unthinkable.  The tumor looked malignant, it was being sent to John Hopkins and we would have the pathology report back in 2 weeks........so we waited, and waited.

On May 19th the results were back.  The first thing the doctor told my sister are words that we will never forget....." You are now fighting for your life". The tumor is malignant.  Now the real battle begins.

You can continue to read Sandi's story as she documents her treatment and progress on her blog "Sandi's Brain Tumor - My Fight for Life""

I want my sister to focus on getting better  instead of worrying about how they will pay the medical bills.  They have insurance, but she can no longer work.  I have created the "Affirmation and Inspiration Collection - Sandi's Fight" to raise money for Sandi and JJ.  Proceeds from the sale of these items will be donated to them to help cover the expenses associated with her treatment of brain cancer.