Randy Weeks, Kim Patterson, George Nelson
I raised my kids with the sayings “Can’t is not a word” and “You can do and be anything you want, if you want it bad enough.”
That is how Kim has always responded to adversity and even today that is how she responds to the fight for her life. Kim is strong, patient, determined and oh yes STUBBORN!Kim is, and always has been, very competitive. I remember once when she was playing in a softball game and was hit with a line drive to the knee, but even with it swollen and hurting she did not quit. The team would have been short a player had she gone to the hospital, so she waited until the game was over to go to the hospital. She has always had an interest in working with her hands and she was so talented when it came to working on motors, machines, etc. She was always drawn to things that a typical female was not interested in, but Kim is not the typical female. She is far from typical or average; she is special and unique in many different ways.
She completely rebuilt a 1965 mustang by herself using nothing but a manual. She would tear apart lawn mowers, go cart motors and 4 wheelers just to put them back together.
Her first paid job was at a place in Graysville, where she would unload and clean 55 gallon metal drums and then reload them. She worked at Synthetic Industries in Chickamauga were she learned to drive a Hyster and she became the first female winder fixer. The other winder fixers (all men) did not like this, and she always had to work twice as hard to show she could do the work and she did.
When she graduated from high school she was given the HOPE grant. I begged her to go back to school; I never wanted my children in a mill, but she got it in her head to do lineman work.
This was another “man’s job”, but she wanted it. She attended Southeast Lineman Training Center in Trenton, Georgia and was the second female to graduate from the program. She excelled in the program and out worked many of the guys she trained alongside. After graduating from SLTC, she went to work for Georgia Power. Again, she was met with adversity by men that did not like women doing this. I reminded her that it would take time for her to earn their respect and now she has only praise for them and from them.
Kim has always been a good person never thinking of herself only helping others. When we bought the house we live in now, we needed to put rails on the front porch and enclose the deck, so she took it upon her self to do it. The pool and deck were small and she decided we needed a bigger one, so she took all the measurements and built a bigger deck and installed a pool as well.
She would come across people that were having difficult times in life and take them in until they got on their feet. If anyone asks for her help she is always there for them.
Everyone was shocked when Kim was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
I told her not to worry about bills or jobs but to enjoy life, but she reminded me of my words. She said, “Momma, don’t give up on me, I want to fight this and I will win.” Later they discovered that the cancer had gone to her liver (stage 3) and her lungs.
She could sign up for disability and “enjoy life”, but she wants to work. She keeps a smile on her face and never complains. Kim loves her job and thinks the world of the men she works with. The only days off from work are when she has her chemo treatments.
Many people consider how their life would change if they were faced with a life and death situation. They think of all the things they would want to experience before they left this world. Kim is making the most of her life everyday and doing what she loves to do, work and being with her family and friends. Her life is a testimony to us all that if we live life to the fullest, we will have no regrets.
Kim’s prognosis is good and she looks to have weathered the storm. Please pray for her to stay positive and for her healing because with God’s help she will win!
Anita Norris
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