Being best friends from almost two decades is indeed special, but this predestined bond becomes even more amazing when the friendship stands through some of the most challenging tests.
This is the story of two good friends who are lovely mothers as well. How their friendship endured through the hard times is beyond compare, and has indeed become an example we all should learn from.
Melissa Armstrong and Sara Hankins from Illinois were friends since 1999 when they were in cosmetology school.
“We met in ’99 in hair school and automatically became best friends,” Armstrong told WQAD.
Sara has been suffering from ALS that is getting worse by the day. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a nervous disorder that weakens muscles and impacts physical function. Medication and therapy can slow ALS and reduce discomfort, but there’s no cure.
Sara, now 36, is in the final stages of her degenerative disease where doctors gave a statement that she would not survive for long.
Sara’s major worry and cause of concern while on her death bed was her three children: 11-year-old Cayden, 9-year-old Micah, and 8-year-oldAmara.
Who will look after them, what will be their future, and could not imagine her kids in foster homes separated. At this juncture, where her illness was taking a toll of her life, and this worry that was bugging her mind so much, she needed support care and assurance.
Her friend, Armstrong, a single mother of two, who was staying in a small three-bedroom apartment understood the difficult scenario her friend is going through.
“She said she can deal with the fact that she’s dying, but she can’t deal with the fact that her kids will be split,” said Armstrong, who came up with a proposal that she would adopt all her three children.
When questioned about her magnanimous offer to take care, she responded, “She would do it for me” if she was in a similar situation—such was her deep rooted friendship.
“She just balled and was like are you kidding me and she said ‘you swear’ and I said ‘yeah,'” Armstrong said, when she told Sara about her decision.
When Sara got to know her friend’s commitment to take care of her children, she felt relief and immense gratitude for her beloved friend. Truly a genuine friend!
As the old saying goes “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”
Armstrong felt like giving all these children a proper Christmas celebration last year, and ensuring their holiday was special. Her another friend Rhonda Debruyn supported her in this good cause; she posted on her Facebook profile asking people to donate gifts for the kids so that the family could celebrate Christmas.
“They deserve it, they really do,” Melissa Armstrong says. “It’s been a tough road.”
To honor her commitment and responsibility, her three bedroom apartment was not enough to make all the five children in comfort. Her goal now is to give them a house big enough, by raising funds from family and friends. The excess amount if any would be kept aside for the children future needs.
This unique bond between two friends and how their friendship stood through the ultimate test is an example that will indeed inspire others to become selfless.
Watch the Inside Edition news magazine’s video below.
