A setback for a comeback: The Kerryann Wickham-Powell testimony

ALLIGATOR POND, Manchester:

The year began with Kerryann Wickham – Powell making sure her plans to advance her life were on track and that her seven-year-old son was manoeuvring the virtual space well for online school, among other things.

But she could not have been prepared for medical diagnosis of an illness that rendered her almost incapable of doing much, maintaining her physical strength and features and living the life she thought she would be living in that period.

It started out with the young mother casually lounging at home shortly after returning from work, but ended with her discovering abnormalities in her breast.

“When I come home from work, it is the norm for me to take off my top. I had taken off my top and was lying on the bed talking to a friend before hopping in the shower. But for some reason, my hand was on my breast and I felt a bump on the nipple area of my right breast. I didn’t take it for anything really, but the next day I texted my doctor,” she said.

Wickham- Powell’s visit to the doctor soon revealed to her that it wasn’t a bump but in fact a lump that would need to be screened and biopsied.

“I didn’t want to delay anything, so I did all the test and everything. My doctor had told me that when I get the results, I don’t need to come in to her but that I could send it in, which I did. I scanned through the document, but I didn’t understand the terminology. It took about 20 minutes after sending in the results for my doctor to get back to me. When she asked me if I was driving and then asked me to come into office, I knew something was wrong.”

In June 2020, Wickham- Powell was diagnosed with stage 2(a) breast cancer.

More than the uncertainty of what would then happen and despite the comfort and support her husband Omar tried to give her in that moment, Wickham-Powell said she was worried for her son and only child.

“My son was just seven (now nine) and I was just 38 when I was diagnosed … Thankfully, they had caught it early enough and I just knew I didn’t want to delay anything and do what I had to do … I was referred to Dr Joseph and had a date set up for surgery. But I wanted a second opinion,” she said.

It wasn’t long before another doctor confirmed that she had cancer and that she needed to ensure the surgery was done at the soonest possible time.

This was most likely the easiest part for the correctional officer.

“I did the surgery in August and started chemotherapy in September and it was rough. I don’t know how to describe chemo, but for the first week I was sick for an entire week and for the last two weeks of chemo, I was sick for the entire two weeks. I couldn’t keep anything down and I felt like I was pregnant all over again. I lost my hair and I had no strength. I wanted to help my son with schoolwork but I couldn’t.”

STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEM

Fortunately for her, Wickham-Powell had an exceptionally strong support system and an unwavering faith in God, which made it difficult for her to even think of giving up.

“I have two mothers: my birth mother who lives in St Ann and my second mother who lives in Canada. My second mother who lives in Canada has been with me from day one. She had an ability to sense when I was out of it and she really helped me through…”

She added: “My husband, son, my co-workers, siblings, neighbour and extended family, they were there for me right through and I believe God placed them in my life for a special reason. Family is everything and I have to give thanks for them all.”

With her first run-in with a major health condition happening after the birth of her son, Wickham-Powell said she once wondered why, of all her relatives, she seemingly had the heaviest cross to bear.

But she soon realised that it was part of her calling, part of her ministry, to speak about her affliction and ultimate triumph, to declare the goodness of Jesus and what He is capable of doing for all.

“When I had my son 2013, I was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and I am still on medication for that, then in 2020 to be diagnosed with cancer. But I have come to conclusion that sickness is not from God but from the devil. He tried it with Job and many others, so I had to accept it and that is when it becomes easier to deal with.

“When it comes on to what I would have experienced and overcome, I would tell the ladies to make checks and don’t delay anything. For those who are otherwise afflicted and are wavering in their faith, continue to trust in God. He will never leave us or forsake us and as long as we stay in His word, we will see that He is there for us and He wants us to trust him.”