11/20/2021
Its November and The Ricky L. Browning Foundation is gearing up for this year ! I can't begin to tell you how beyond thrilled I am to announce that we have cleared access to the oncology floors again this year !!!! Lots more precautions, suitups will be required for all rooms and while in the hospital at all ,but we will take it !!! It brings great honor and blessing to know that another year has come that we will be able to offer a cane of hope to those facing the most heartbreaking times of their lives. For those who don't know who we are or what we do ,let me share a little about our story an how we came about .july 2004 my family (mom,dad and me) had came back from a trip to IN and my dad became very tired an very weak ,he kept working and a few days later called my mom from work to tell her he couldn't see out of one of his eyes to bring him another pair of glasses (now mind you my dad joked alot so she thought he was kidding ) ,they end up going to eye doctor next day who says he sees a mass behind his eye and he wanted to get him scheduled with a neurologist; well that appointment never came ,by that evening he had completely lost all sight in that eye an went to the ER . After hours of testing and waiting the dr came in and uttered those words you never want to hear that stops your whole life and world right in its tracks; mr. Browning you have small cell carcinoma (lung cancer ) the aggressive kind and you are already past stage for and will have a maximum of 6months to live . Yep the ball dropped an our whole world as we knew it completely fell apart that night in st John's hospital in Springfield mo .they sent him home with follow up and to start treatments.we go to eureka springs for my 17th birthday in September when his legs began to swell and enlarge ,he went to ER and told he developed blood strips in his legs(now when I tell you there was only 3 times I seen my daddy cry in my life when my brother died,when my nanny died and when he experienced that pain..it broke my heart) ,now mind you his entire body was ate up with cancer. Pelvic none,6ribs,lungs barely there along with the eye socket tissues gone .anyone who knew my dad in his young days he lived the street life but then later in life ended up an evangelist and when i tell you this man in his condition would make a point everyday for a month he stayed in st John's, every out care treatment he went to ,down to living in Barnes for the remainder of time he would walk those halls praying for each and every person in there an minister to them in their pain even when he went through his own ,even on the really bad days that he couldn't get out of bed he would be sure to get a update an lay there praying for them .he had unshakeable faith like no one and was my hero.we end up going to Barnes Thanksgiving not knowing that would truly be our last ,we lived in Barnes for 3 months total.the chemo depleted him ,the radiation burned him to a crisp and he still was worried about everyone else,my dad taught me alot but teaching me how to die was by far the hardest to learn. God did heal and restore his eyesight that wasn't there but he lost his fight January 27th, 2005 and we laid him to rest Feb 3,2005 . So this is why we started The Ricky L. Browning Foundation (Cane of hope ministries) to keep the faith and offering hope to those facing the battles of that awful c word .we go every year and past out miniature Christmas trees along with care packs and of course candy canes ! for those who are in need assist with parking voucher,food trays,copays,logging, and more to assist patients and their families we also help with that when funding is available. So this brightens my heart that for the 17th year in a role I will beable to keep this going .Today I work as the main office administrator over our Empower Financial Group Insurance Agency were I am able everyday to help share the importance of keeping your families protected when an unexpected event like this occurs ,so thankful for these opportunities to beable to help make just a little of a difference in lighting up a face in despair by offering a cane of hope.
