Russell Medical emergency room charge nurse Erin Dean is not merely a fighter but a warrior. Dean reasonably balances her roles as mother, full-time student and full-time employee. When she was diagnosed again with metastatic cancer, her only request was prayer. But she has since received so much more than that.

Dean, a single mother of three children — Lachlan, 11; Allison, 9 and Benjamin, 7 — was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in 2017 and diagnosed with Stage 4 breast metastasis to the brain in July 2019. The diagnosis was rediscovered last month.

Amy Passaretti is a staff writer with the Alexander City Outlook.