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Columbiana mother with cancer awarded high school diploma after 35 years
By Bruce Walton
COLUMBIANA
After 35 years, Candice Oesch Downie finally received her Columbiana High School diploma, thanks to her husband’s selfless actions after learning about her terminal cancer.
The school invited her and her family to the school Feb. 21, where they surprised her with an official diploma, a bouquet of flowers and a party with snacks and refreshments. They even gave Candice her own cap and gown. She said it all seemed too much for her.
“[It feels] a little bit undeserving because I didn’t earn that half credit,” she said. “I was granted that half credit because of what my husband did and because of – unfortunately – my illness.”
Her husband disagreed.
“Well you sure are deserving of it,” Jim said as he looked into his wife’s eyes. “You’ve changed my life in so many damn ways.”
After a month of stomach pain, Candice visited a doctor in late December who diagnosed her with inoperable pancreatic cancer. A CAT scan revealed a tumor on her pancreas and eight lesions on her liver. The doctor gave her four weeks to live in December.
Candice is no stranger to cancer, having survived breast cancer from 2008 to 2010. She also saw other relatives die of cancer, but this illness came so unexpectedly.
The couple have hardly ever been apart since Jim asked her out on a date 20 years ago at a Laundromat. At first she rejected him, but when he tried a second time, she relented – and they’ve been together since.
After learning of her cancer, Jim felt compelled to do something more for her than just chemotherapy. He wanted to make her feel more complete than she’d ever been. Candice always confided in Jim about how she wished she graduated high school in 1982. Candice had one missing half-credit in basic math she never finished.
While her parents were going through a difficult divorce, Candice said she had to take care of her siblings and fell behind in her studies.
Despite her academic shortcomings, Candice was extremely outgoing in school. She lettered in basketball, involved herself in track and was close friends with classmates on the homecoming court.
Jim sent a letter to school Superintendent Don Mook asking if Candice could possibly attend a few classes to earn her diploma, but Mook said he could award her with the diploma immediately. After a short discussion with the school board, they unanimously agreed on awarding her with the diploma.
“We’re very happy to have been part of making her dream come true, and we hope the treatments she’s undergoing will work on her behalf,” Mook said.
Jim works in construction and has been taking time off to care for his wife. Candice also wanted to thank her high-school friend Anita Merlo, who’s been visiting her to help in any way she can. Although only given four weeks to live two months ago, Candice said she’s feeling like she could last a lot longer.