Georgia woman beats rare illness as a child, becomes nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
“I am glad that we are bringing awareness to these types of cancers. It is hard. It is the scariest kind of thing.”
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The water has always been a safe space for Sammie Jo Porter.
“I was going into 6th grade, it was that summer,” said Porter, “I was at swim camp. I woke up on the last day of camp with my eye swollen shut.”
Swimming has been constant in her life since she was a little girl, through a terrifying diagnosis and everything after and before.
“We got a cat scan and it showed a pea-sized hole in my left orbital bone. It was caused by Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis,” said Porter.
She had a massive surgery and eventually, went into remission. The nurses who worked with her kept her fighting, she wanted to do the same thing for other kids.
“I am a registered nurse at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in their Neonatal ICU,” said Porter.
Nursing has become a way she can give back, pass along some of the same strength that was given to her. She wanted to do more. Her love of swimming followed her into high school and college and into adulthood. She started swimming with Swim Across America, to raise money for childhood cancer research and clinical trials, the money raised here in our community, goes to The Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s.
“For Atlanta itself, we have raised over 5 million dollars so far from when it started I think, back in 2013,” said Porter.
Swimming has been a grounding force in Sammi Jo’s life but it has also become a vehicle she uses to bring change.
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