SURVIVOR SPOTLIGHT

Learn more about our services and programs through those who have benefited from them, our local survivors.

Magic Chicken Soup – by Lynda

INGREDIENTS

  • Boneless Chicken – 2 to 3 breasts cleaned and chopped into 1” cubes
  • Chicken Broth – 3-4, 32 ounce cartons
  • Mirepoix – 2 containers of mirepoix or 1 cup each of chopped carrots, celery, and onions
  • White Rice – ¾ cup
  • Butter – 2 tablespoons
  • Olive Oil – 2 tablespoons
  • Garlic Salt and Pepper – to taste

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large saucepan, sauté the mirepoix in butter and olive oil for 5-7 minutes.
  2. Heavily garlic salt the chicken cubes and add them to the vegetables.
  3. Cook on medium heat for another 5-7 minutes.
  4. Add the chicken broth and bring to a low boil.
  5. Add rice.
  6. Turn down and simmer until the rice is tender, usually 20 to 30 minutes.
  7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  8. While everything cooks, use the time to pray blessings over the people who will be eating it. This is the magic ingredient.

NOTES FROM THE COOK: Trader Joe’s ingredients, including the olive oil and organic chicken breasts, makes for the best flavor. Low sodium broth is not recommended. The recipe makes a large batch – perfect for sharing with family and friends.

Christine Lollar is a Links for Life Board Member, Regional Grant Director for Adventist Health, and the wife of a cancer survivor.

Magic Soup – Debbie Hankins, RN, BSN, MAOM, Survivor

By Christine Lollar

Debbie Hankins, a nurse of 36 years, is a Bakersfield native, and was raised by her parents’ “can do – will do” recipe for life. Her father was a highway patrolman, and when she was a little girl, her mother was in a tragic bus accident. The event resulted in her being paralyzed from the chest down and using a wheelchair. Debbie recalls that her mother never let her paralysis stop her from raising her children or caring for her grandchildren.

Following that recipe of powering through as the core ingredient, together with her husband  Rob of 45-years, she raised two boys, Keith, and Kurt. Finding time to “mix in” selfcare, mammograms, colonoscopies, etc., was not a priority for Debbie… until 2022.

While planning their traditional Thanksgiving, she received a call from oldest son Keith (a  vice president of finance/controller). Keith was following that tenacious family recipe with a little touch of his own tough love. He told her if she didn’t get her annual screenings, he wasn’t coming home for the holidays. Keith said “I know as a nurse, Mom thought she had everything under control. It’s like she thought she was invincible. She always takes care of everybody else.”  He explained that she always made sure they did the best thing for their health. Now he was holding her accountable, and he leveraged the situation with his presence. “I love her, and I want her around for a long time,” he said. It worked.

Debbie shared that the waiting for test results is rough, “The probability of having cancer is anxiety producing. Your mind runs away with you from the time you undergo testing until you get the answer. I hadn’t even had a common cold in 30 years.” She says it was hard to comprehend when her doctor called me and told her she had cancer. “I was driving home and really should have pulled over. I couldn’t concentrate. I remember him saying ‘It’s an aggressive type of cancer, but we caught it early. We’re going get you in treatment right away and you’re going be OK.’ I called my husband right away and he talked to me all the way home.”

Diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer – invasive ductal carcinoma, the treatment plan was a surgical lumpectomy and reduction, chemo, and radiation. Still, one of the hardest hurtles was telling her family, and processing all of their feelings, reassuring them that she was going be OK, even though she really didn’t know if she would.

Debbie pulled from her “can do – will do” family recipe and pushed through. “I bought two fabulous wigs at Lemonade Locks and did what I know. During the six weeks of radiation I would start my day with an 8 a.m. radiation session, then go to work.” It did not occur to her to stop working. She faced three months of weekly chemo and 18 months of eminent therapy infusions every three weeks. “I locked eyes with Jacqui Engstrand, nurse navigator at Adventist Health’s Breast Center, and kept moving forward.”

Admittedly, some moments were gripped with fear. She uncharacteristically refused to research, a process that (before her diagnosis) had come so naturally. “I had overcome gender roles, worked in the physical therapy department, the pharmacy, even stocking crash carts. Then as a nurse I worked in the ICU, as Director of Critical Care, and was Chief Nursing Officer/Vice President of Nursing during the launch of the AIS Cancer Center, all of which required studying and discovering everything I could learn about them. It’s how I tackle situations as a CEO. But this time was different. I couldn’t bear to look anything up.”  She remembers a vulnerable moment, on a drive to treatment when she told her husband “I can’t do it. I just can’t do it.” Her husband responded, “Yes, you can. You already are.”

Powering through, armed with support group information, and the care of the AIS Breast Center and Dr. Ricardo Salas, she got the “all clear” after surgery, and again when she completed chemo. Every six months since, she is still hearing the “all clear.” She says she still feels cautious each time… and yet overwhelmingly grateful.

When asked what form of help, from family and friends, was really meaningful, Debbie said “I could not bring myself to ask people for help. I felt awkward knowing I was working. But little did I know, I really needed it.” That help came in the form of a magic pot on her doorstep. A pot of soup. “My friend of three decades, Lynda came bearing what I named her Magic Chicken Soup. That’s what it was for me. Pure magic. It touched my soul.” (Recipe below.)

“I’m so thankful that I have this time and the knowledge that every minute is a gift. I’m not to waste it,” Debbie said. Volunteering for Links for Life is part of that. Having a breast cancer diagnosis inspired me to take stock in quality commitments. “If I can support someone on their journey, I’m hear for that.”

DEBBIE HANKINS is CEO of Foundation of Medical Care of Kern and Santa Barbara Counties.