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2 Your Town Zachary: Story 2 Tell
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ZACHARY - Everyone has a story, no matter who you are or where you’re from. As WBRZ went 2 Your Town in Zachary, we wanted to tell these stories, including the inspiring story of Wanda Hayes.
“I have a lot of stories to tell,” Hayes said outside City Hall. “God has brought me a mighty long ways."
Wanda said that faith is one of the most important things in her life, especially through a life that has not always been easy.
"My mom was a single mom and she raised us in a two-bedroom home. But we made it and we never went a day hungry,” Hayes said.
She has faced many challenges that have made her into the outstanding woman she is today, one who radiates motivation.
“Oh yeah, I’ve overcome a lot. I mean to be honest with you, I dropped out of school, went to the Job Corps and I got my GED and my nursing assistant training,” Hayes said.
Hayes spent most of her life as a caregiver working at hospitals, nursing homes and other similar facilities. She even helped take care of her mother and siblings as they faced their own illnesses.
Hayes, however, needed care of her own.
“I’m a two-time breast cancer survivor,” explained Hayes, saying she was diagnosed in 2013 before it returned in 2020.
"So I had to have chemo, my third week of chemo. I had COVID, so I made it through all of that,” Hayes said.
But through it all, she remained optimistic.
"Baby, every day is a blessing to live one more day," she said.
For Hayes, her goal is to keep living, especially for her six siblings who died of cancer.
“I’m going to live beyond, you know? Whatever God has me do. I’m going to be an old old lady," Hayes said.
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