CoxHealth employee Leslie Gardner didn’t expect a bad mammogram. When the next step gave her the worst news – breast cancer- her world turned upside down.

She underwent a double mastectomy and tried to recover while quickly becoming overwhelmed by the bills for her screening and surgery.  “I live paycheck to paycheck. Each week when the bills came in from my cancer, I just crossed my fingers that I had enough to pay the bills and keep up my household too.” Leslie applied to the Good Samaritan Fund at the CoxHealth Foundation and because of her diagnosis, was also referred to the Breast Care Fund with her same application. She received a grant for both- a bigger blessing than she had ever hoped for. “The day the letter came about my bill being paid I just cried. I couldn’t believe it but I knew things were about to get better! I can’t thank all the donors enough who help make these grants possible.  It really made a big difference for me, I’m so grateful. “