Dunwoody resident Erika Harris is determined to make the last days of a terminally ill mother and her daughter filled with memories.
Doctors have told Regina Cleveland, who has Stage 4 colon cancer, that her life expectancy is now only about three to six months as the disease has spread quickly throughout her body.
Cleveland, who had been very transparent about her struggle with and recovery from addiction, became certified as a peer-to-peer specialist and was launching a nonprofit network to support women in active addiction when she received the devastating news.
After hearing of Cleveland’s diagnosis, which left her unable to work and with only a paltry disability benefit check each month, Harris spearheaded a grassroots effort to provide her and her daughter Bella, a sixth grader at Peachtree Middle School, funding for rent, medication and meals.
Credit: Erika Harris
Credit: Erika Harris
Harris also helped to fulfill one of Cleveland’s final bucket list items, a fall trip to New York City. She posted a call to action on social media in early October.
“Something that broke my heart was hearing that Regina has not only never been on an airplane, she’s never even been to an airport,” Harris wrote. “The only way she’s ever known this greater world is through an author’s words printed on pages and pictures on the internet.”
Cleveland, who is now under hospice care, confessed to Harris that she had always dreamed of taking her daughter on a trip to New York City.
“She said that these dreams that she’s had will go into a lockbox of unkept promises to herself and her daughter,” Harris said. “We can’t cure Regina’s cancer and we can’t buy her more time with her young daughter. But we can make this dream come true.”
After she put out a message on social media, money, hotel accommodations and Delta frequent-flier point donations poured in. It took less than 48 hours to fully fund the trip for Regina and Belle.
“The little girl in this story is one of our own,” Harris said. “Our community has always done such an incredible job of supporting one another in challenging times.”
Harris credits Dunwoody’s close-knit community for stepping up to the challenge, not her own efforts.
“As they say, ‘There’s no I in team,’ and this was such a team effort to make all of these things possible for Regina and Belle,” Harris said. “I might have been the coach calling the plays, but it’s the team that won the game.”
HOW TO HELP
If you’re interested in providing a meal to the Cleveland family, sign up here.
To donate to the Cleveland family, click here or go to gofundme.com and search for “Regina Cleveland.”
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