By Nancy Eshelman
By the time Tina Stine heard about Vickie's Angel Foundation, she had done some dumpster diving at Sheetz. Tina was hungry. She had paid her utility bills and put gas in her truck. That left nothing for food. When Mickey Minnich called, she hadn't eaten for three days.
"They have made such a difference," Tina said of Vickie's Angels. "I don't feel I'm alone. They are my warriors out there fighting for me."
Tina has spent much of her life alone. For 37 years, she drove truck, one of those big tractor trailers that whiz by on the highway. She's driven in every state but Hawaii, a career that included a two-year stint in Alaska.
As a trucker, she earned good money. But in February 2021, she was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer. She had a lump removed, underwent radiation, and was told the cancer was gone.
A year later, with pain in her hip and a knot on her forehead, she saw several doctors. All agreed she had Stage 4 breast cancer and it would be best if she put her affairs in order.
Tina, some might say, is stubborn. At 56, she said, "I'm not done. I love life. I'm not ready to go yet."
The Gettysburg resident decided to seek another opinion at the James M. Stockman Cancer Institute in Frederick, Md. For her, it was the right fit.
She has found hope there and a feeling of support. She tells her doctor, "I'm going to be your miracle baby."
That light-hearted attitude seems to permeate her conversation, just as laughter punctuates her sentences.
"I'm just an upbeat person, always have been," she said. She claims it's especially important now. "Mental health is a priority when dealing with cancer."
That's one big reason she is so grateful to Vickie's Angels. They have eliminated her financial worries for the time being by paying her utility bills and providing gift cards for the supermarket.
Before the angels came into her life, her weight had dropped from 225 to 157.
"It wasn't because of the cancer," she said. "I was starving. I was going three or four days without eating."
Despite the financial aid, the big picture of her life sometimes brings Tina down. She admits she struggles at home alone and depends on a walker to get around. She has few friends or relatives to ask for moral support.
"I've spent my life in a truck by myself. Nobody knows me," she said.
But she's quickly learned that the Angels offer more than financial assistance. Tina said she can pick up the phone and find a friendly voice in the Vickie's Angels office. Their moral support, she said, is just as important as the financial aid.
Now, she said, she's focusing on the future. And these days when she pulls into Sheetz, she fills her gas tank and keeps her distance from the dumpsters.