Meet Johanna

When I met Johanna Drumheller a few weeks ago, I never would have known how sick she is. Her short blonde hair has a glassy shine, and her skin glows. But Johanna has stage 4 cancer; it doesn’t matter how she looks, it matters how she feels. And between her illness and treatments, the way she feels is preventing her from caring for her three young children. “Since I’m a stay at home mom, I can’t take care of my kids the way I used to,“ Johanna says. “We send our kids to a babysitter, just so I can take care of myself the way I need to. As a mother, it’s just the hardest thing to do.“

Johanna and her husband Scott worked hard to make sure Johanna could stay home with their kids during their formative first three years of life to foster their social and emotional development. “It’s almost like society has forced us into this position where we’re having children,“ Scott says, “but are we really paying attention to them? Are we really devoting the time? So we wanted to do that, if we could reach that point. And we did. And all of a sudden we get thrown this curve ball.“

Our thoughts are with Johanna as she gets ready for another round of treatment next week. But we’ve marked our calendars for the Drumheller family benefit concert this weekend at Effort Baptist Church, with country legend Jimmy Fortune performing. Doors open at 5, music starts at 7.

If you can’t make it to the concert, send donations to the JPD Cancer Fund, 1926 Abbey Rd. #20, Charlottesville, 22911.