In 2009, Sharde was in college, working full time, all while pursuing her passion for a professional dance career. That October, she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Her whole life came to an abrupt stop. Recovery became everything. During treatment she was at home with her mother, ostracized from the world. She felt alone, like everything was moving on without her. She was lost and desperately needed something to connect to.
“All my options for support were for people much older or younger than me. Or they weren’t in Michigan. Or they only existed on the internet,” she said.
Sharde is a social butterfly. She needed to be around people. And she needed these people to know the impact of everything she was going through. She was up and down physically and mentally. And, up and down spiritually.
She found a website for Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit because they offered a support group for young adults. “I found a place to feel safe, to feel uplifted and understood. I found a place to wear a happy face or an angry face. Whichever one was real today,” she said.
It was February of 2011 and she received a bone marrow transplant. She spent this year and the next recuperating from it and the many side effects. It’s now 2015 and she’s still recuperating today.
“I am blessed and grateful to be cancer free today but anyone who has experienced cancer or been close to it will tell you that its impact on you lasts much longer than a few years of clean scans. It’s more of a reverberation in life that ripples till it reaches the shore.”
“I’m being honest when I say that Gilda’s Club is irreplaceable. It’s hard for me to imagine making it through all these years without the support I’ve found here. Joining is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and I thank God for everyone who has contributed to keeping the lights on in the beautiful clubhouse.”
