Nedra Bradley: Queen City Race and Street Strut Ambassador
MCC Director of Financial Aid Nedra Bradley urges others to be aware. “If something
doesn’t seem right, make sure you get checked out.”
Bradley, one of Queen City Race and Street Strut ambassadors, was 33 years old in January 2009 when she learned from a local emergency room doctor that something wasn’t right. It was then that she discovered she had breast cancer. It was stage 2.
“The first thing that I asked was what the plan of action was. I never had any doubt that God was going to cure me. My doctor asked me did I understand what he just said. I told him that I heard him, but I never lost my faith,” Bradley said.
Her plan of action began with chemotherapy to shrink the tumor. “After four major rounds of chemo (called the red devil), this took about two months,” she said, noting that there was a hospital stay. After her mastectomy, she endured another round of chemo and then radiation. “The second round was not as hard on me, but because I was still weak from the first round, it took longer to bounce back. All in all, I was doing treatments and recovering for nearly a year,” she said.
Bradley said her support network - family, church family, and MCC family – were instrumental in her recovery. “My mom took some leave from work to be with me. My grandmother was there to ‘watch me.’ If she had to leave, she made sure that she told whoever took her place to ‘watch me.’
Her former supervisor, Soraya Welden, checked on her frequently, and when she had surgery, Welden came to visit. “The prayers, cards, food, and the baseball team’s fundraiser for me kept my spirits high,” she added.
And, she said her NorthPark Church family’s acts of kindness will always be remembered. “They made sure that my daughter, who was in middle school at the time, never missed out on anything. They carried her to events and made sure that her life was as normal as possible. They came and sat with me, brought me videos and books to occupy my time, and prayed for me every day,” she said.
Bradley urges others to never give up on faith. “My faith and strong belief in the fact that I know God has His hands around me is what kept me strong.”
“This (health crisis) made me realize that life is precious and that time does not stand still. Love on your loved ones and live life to the fullest,” she said.
On Bradley’s desk in her Ivy-Scaggs Hall office is a plaque given to her by her grandmother. “It says, ‘If He brings you to it, He will bring you through it.’”