“I am a single mom with four daughters ages 19, 18, 16, and 5. I have worked at Walgreens for over six years.  I make $13.70 an hour and don’t even live check to check. We eat day to day and sometimes we are lucky to eat cereal for supper.  It is stressful. I fight it off because I don’t want my daughters to think I can’t make it. I want them to be strong and independent and not have to depend on a man. I also want my girls to have everything they need. I rarely get anything for myself. It is all about them and I love making them happy. They go everywhere I go.

I love my job and the customers call me Miss Walgreens. They are like my family and I give them excellent customer service. Sometimes I get in trouble for taking too much time with a customer. Some people come in and don’t have enough money for their medicine. I will help them out of my own pocket. People out here need help. Old people come in by themselves and I help them get home. I love taking care of people. I was a school traffic officer before this. Kids in my family come to my house because I love them. There are so many people in the world that don’t have that love. We don’t have anything else, but we’ve got each other. 

We were in a bad car wreck over a week ago while taking my daughter to school at Bishop State. The way was clear when I turned off my street. I don’t remember the hit. I just remember waking up crying when they were pulling me out of the car. I remember my daughter barely moving and coming around to find me and give me a hug. Three teenagers were in the other car. After the wreck, they got out and ran off. They stole the car from a gas station the day before and a policeman was chasing them. The crash hurt my daughter’s knee. I have pain patches all over my back and arm. I don’t take any other medicine because I don’t want to get addicted. I am trying to tough it out. 

I have been out of work since the wreck and don’t know when I am going to go back. I may look normal but I am shaken up about it all parts of the day. So many people don’t survive a wreck like that. What if something had happened to my daughter? I am scared to drive now. A car got too close yesterday and I had to pull over and let them go. My youngest daughters sleep in the bed with me and they say I have nightmares and scream at night. One of them had tests this week so I haven’t slept the last two nights so she could get some rest.  My car is still in the tow yard and I had to get a rental car The insurance company says they will only pay what I still owe on it. My daughter is 19 and doesn’t have health insurance so I have to pay for her doctor’s visits and prescriptions.

After the wreck, I didn’t know how we were going to make it and thought we were going to end up on the street because the rent and everything else was due. I had to pay fees for my other daughter’s cosmetology school. The bills and life kept going on even though the money wasn’t coming in. It was all a bad dream. Harriet and I became friends at Walgreens and she noticed when I wasn’t at work because I never missed work. She checked on me, heard what happened, and set up a GoFundMe account that is getting us through this. Harriet saved our family from something even worse. 

The wreck also triggered memories of when my mama was run over by a car when I was in the 12 grade.  They gave up on her and thought she was dead. They were rolling her to the morgue and she sat up. Today has plastic bones, rods, and pins in her body. I know God can can perform miracles. My mama is strong and my strength comes from her. She tries to do anything for me she can, but I know she doesn’t feel good and I try not to bother her.  

All of my dreams are for my children. I want everything to be good for them. I am just happy me and my baby are alive. Some people don’t make it out of accidents like that. Times are tough, but I am still blessed.”

“My mama is so strong. She puts our needs before her own. If there is something we need, she will find a way to get it for us. She never does or gets anything for herself. I am going to get my PTA license at Bishop right now and then transfer to USA or the University of Mobile. One day I am going to help take care of her.”

How you can help the Campbell family:

https://www.gofundme.com/gods-angels-helped-us-survived-a-high-speed-chase?fbclid=IwAR12zxorD6vW6MRjtJP1uKdB4NGcajc_ckmjMsw49E53BXQhOAIoAoCXioE