ABSTRACT
Dixie Yandle had just turned eleven when she was diagnosed with synovial carcinoma, an extremely aggressive and incurable form of cancer that attacks the soft tissue surrounding joints. Within three weeks, one of her legs was amputated and she was placed on chemotherapy for the next two years. For her parents, Dixie’s illness was emotionally and financially devastating. Home schooling had to be arranged, battles with the insurance company had to be fought, and many two-hour drives to and from the hospital had to be planned around busy work schedules. Despite the fact that George was an award-winning salesman at a local car dealership, his bosses grew impatient with his unpredictable schedule, questioned his loyalty to the firm, and raised concerns about their company’s insurance premiums being raised to offset Dixie’s costly medical treatments. Consequently, George was fired from his $80,000 a year job and remained unemployed for the next eighteen months.1
