Profiles in Courage

In any drive to vaccinate a certain population-in this instance young girls—there have to be individuals who come forth to volunteer to be the first to receive the vaccine. In our program the pioneers-the young ladies who have volunteered to be the first are Brittany Tucker and Leigh Foley. Both Brittany and Leigh have read the information regarding the vaccine and had the unique opportunity to question the vaccine’s inventors, Drs. Jenson and Ghim.

Leigh Foley, 15, is the daughter of Danny Foley and Kathy Hale of Russell County, Leigh was interviewed on Christmas Eve. A junior at Russell County High she was hoping to receive a digital camera along with some songs from her favorite artists: Merle Haggard, Kenny Chesney, George Jones, and George Strait, as well as several rap artists.

During the summer Leigh goes with friends to Lake Cumberland where they swim, sun and cook out. This winter they spent more time at each other’s houses and at the movies. Her favorite actor is Johnny Depp and she has watched Pirates of the Caribbean more than once.

At school she has been sort of a maverick: taking auto mechanics, carpentry, construction skills courses. She also is interested in HOSA, the health occupation program.

It was not hard to recruit Leigh-we didn’t have to twist her arm much-because she has a family history of cervical cancer. And as such she understands that she has a greater chance of developing cervical cancer.

Her maternal grandmother, Nadean Hale, had cervical cancer-requiring a hysterectomy. So Leigh is pretty excited of being immunized so she will never develop cervical cancer.

Leigh is a voracious reader her favorite authors being Dean Koontz and John Grisham; she has been known to find a good book and read it through the night.

Regarding the requirement that she has not been sexually active: Leigh is unashamedly vocal in declaring that she is reserving (saving) sex for marriage. A member of the French Valley Methodist Church, she is comfortable with this decision; according to Leigh, “Why not be vaccinated? Because of my family history my risk for cervical cancer is great. It’s a relief to eliminate this risk.”

Brittany Tucker, 13, is the daughter of Melissa Corbin and Michael Tucker. She’s in the 8th grade at Adair Middle School.

For Christmas she received an IPOD and has assembled her favorite artists: Hank Williams Jr., Hinder, Brooks and Dunn, Gretchen Wilson and Rascal Flatts, to name a few. It took her a while to learn how her computer and IPOD were compatible but she was eventually able to figure it out.

Brittany’s step-sister, Kayla, 14, is “close to my age, but we are entirely different. It takes patience to live with someone who is your opposite and my step-nephew, Landon lives with us. I get to care for him at night a great deal.”

“Since I like children and the elderly, I believe I would enjoy being a nurse like my mom.” When not is school, Brittany likes to go mudding and four wheeling with her dad. “We go to Baker’s Grocery near Elkhorn and over in Eastern Kentucky at D & K Off Road Racing near Manchester.

Her reading reflects this interest. She reads “Peterson’s Four Wheeling Off Road” and magazines such as “Seventeen”. She likes school and spends time with her school friends. They go to the movies. Her favorite movie is “Ringer” with Johnny Knoxville. She loved Pirates of the Carribean” with Johnny Depp, but her favorite actor is Shane West in “A Walk to Remember.”

A favorite food? Try Mexican food or stand-by mac and cheese with mashed potatoes. She attends the Southside Church of Christ as well as the New Hope Separate Baptist Church. She too has chosen to save sex until marriage. She likes softball, basketball and Nascar racing. Her driver? #24 Jeff Gordon.