“Reason this person is a Gold Ribbon Hero: This girl is such an inspiration. She is a 15 yr old girl fighting for her life. 2 yrs ago she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. In her journey she has displayed so much kindness, selflessness, and generosity during her own time of need. Her heart broke for the other little ones fighting this disease so she started making stuffed bears to give to them. She made a page where people could sponsor the Bears or donate material for them and would make them on her good days. For her Make A Wish she wanted a way to help others with it so she asked for Scotty McCreedy to do a concert to benefit our local Nursing home and gave the money to them. Just recently she was told that the treatments were for quality of life only and if she got too sick they would stop them. She decided that day to do a bucket list and the first thing she thought of was that she wanted to do a toy & art supply drive for the Vanderbilt Children’s hospital. She gathered so much stuff they were able to share the wealth with other facilities and purchase a TV for the teen room. It absolutely floored me that yet again when she was dealt with devastating news, her first thought was to help someone else. This girl keeps shining her light on others,  as she fights in the darkness herself. She inspires so many people to be better people and how to live life. She is continuing to fight though she has been given no hope at this point. Her motto for life right now is is to love, laugh and make memories.” – Shanna M.