Frances Cole, center, is pictured with her daughter, Jennifer, and son, Jason.
Imagine living alone and carrying out your daily routines — getting out of bed, going to the store, and cooking dinner — with several bone fractures. This was the reality for 73-year-old Frances Cole.
However, against all odds, the Statesville resident, who is living with bone cancer, is now on the verge of recovery. Cole’s story is a testament to strength, determination, and expert care.
More than 16 years ago, Cole battled breast cancer and received chemotherapy treatments at the J. Allen Knox Radiation Therapy Center.
“For eight years following my treatment, I was taking by-mouth medication. I thought, ‘This is ridiculous, eight years?’ So, I decided to quit taking the medication two years early, and the cancer never completely went away. The cancer had been in me all this time, moving around, growing, and attaching to my bones,” said Cole.
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However, Cole did not yet know what was going on internally, and as time passed, she began to feel progressively worse. Despite this, she chose to keep it a secret from everyone.
“I lived by myself and started to fall a lot. I was using a walker at home. I had gotten to the point where I could barely move my legs. I just thought I could hide it,” said Cole.
In April, Cole’s granddaughter, Grace, visited her at home and brought her lunch.
“When she got there, she said, ‘Nana, this is not right. You need to go to the hospital.’ I told her I was going to be fine and that I just needed to rest. I did not want her to go home and tell her dad, my son, about how I was feeling. I remember her saying, ‘I just want you to get better.’ She went straight home and told her dad. He came and had an ambulance come and get me to take me to the hospital,” said Cole.
Cole remembers Grace bringing her lunch but does not recall anything else for the next few weeks.
Cole arrived at Iredell Memorial Hospital with several broken bones, for which she had many surgeries. She was in the hospital for 23 days before she was transferred to Iredell Skilled Nursing, a facility in the hospital that provides short-stay nursing care to patients who are not ill enough for hospital care but too ill to go home.
When she got to skilled nursing, Cole could not even lift her head off the bed and knew she had a long road to recovery ahead of her.
“The therapist, Chris, is who really got me turned around. I knew what kind of shape I was in. The second or third time I saw him, he asked what I wanted to do that day. I told him I didn’t want to do anything. I just wanted to lay here.”
What the physical therapist said to Cole next is what changed her perspective.
“He said, ‘Look, I know the kind of life you had and lived, and I see where you are now, and you’re probably not going to get back to that life exactly, but you surely don’t have to stay where you are now. But that’s up to you. You get to make that choice,’” Cole said.
That’s when Cole decided to give it her all to get well.
“I remember the biggest deal was the day I took two steps forward and two steps back, and then I just plopped back on the bed. I thought, ‘I think I can walk.’ It never crossed my mind that I was going to be able to walk again,” Cole said.
Cole says this experience made her feel powerful, like she was on the brink of gaining back control over her life — something she never thought she would have again.
After many months of therapy, Cole can now walk with her walker and climb stairs. She even regularly exercises on the exercise bike in the hospital.
“I don’t know many people that say spending six months in a hospital was a good experience, but I’ve made so many good friends, and the care has been wonderful. They saved my life. I can’t imagine anything that would have been better.”
“They treat you here like they truly love you, like family. This is not an ordinary hospital,” she said.
Cole says she is now taking oral medications to treat her bone cancer, and after six months of hard work and perseverance, she was finally able to return home in November.
“I am so excited to go home and spend time with my family and grandchildren and get back in the kitchen,” said Cole. “Grace, my granddaughter, was saying, ‘Nana, when you get home for Christmas, we’re going to build a fire, and we’re going to make cookies and have cocoa. And I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s why I’m still here.’”
When thinking back on her experience, Cole’s advice to others is to stay positive and enjoy life.
“My advice is to grasp each and every day and feel the fullness of life. I don’t know how much longer I have left, but thank goodness I don’t know. Who wants to know that?” said Cole.
Cole’s story of recovery is an inspiring reminder that hope, determination, and excellent care can triumph over the most challenging circumstances.
Learn more
You can help patients like Cole by considering a donation to Iredell Health Foundation’s annual fund, Grateful Patients & Families of Iredell. Your gift is an extension of Iredell’s compassionate care and helps patients during their time of greatest need. To learn more about the fund, or to make a donation, visit IredellHealthFoundation.org, or call 704-878-7669.