Q&A: Life in the Heart of Georgia with Sanford Caroline Neel

Julie Bolt
Sep 7, 2018 · 6 min read
Sanford Caroline and her family celebrating Christmas at her Grandmama’s house in 2005.

Sanford Caroline Neel is a 5' 4" blonde, brown-eyed, young woman who embodies all the mannerisms of a Southern Belle. Her sassy attitude compliments her giving and genuine heart that has always fought to see
the best in every situation. Despite the hardships of her life in losing her mother at a young age, she has made it her life’s duty to be motherly in her nature to all of those around her.

JB: Where did you grow up and what was your favorite part about it?

SCN: I grew up in Macon, Georgia, which is in the very center of
Georgia. It’s a tiny intimate town, so everyone knows everyone
and my entire family lives there, so that is probably my favorite
part. We all live within five minutes of each other, and I lived within
like ten minutes of all my best friends.

JB: What was one of your fondest memories of your childhood?

SCN: My aunt Dawn lives on a lot of property in Macon and every year
from pre-kindergarten until high school, she would have my whole grade
over for an event. So like when we were growing up, it was an Easter
egg hunt, but as we got older into middle and high school it was a
prom dinner, or an end of the year party.

JB: What was one of your hardest memories from your childhood?

SCN: I lost my mom to cancer in 2011.

Sanford Caroline Neel and her mom, Summer Neel, at her cousin’s debutante ball in 2006.

JB: What was that likgrowing up?

SCN: I can give you a timeline of everything. In 2002, when I was only 3, she was first diagnosed with breast cancer, she was then treated with surgery and radiation but didn’t have to do chemo, and she beat the cancer. And then in 2005, there was a recurrence of breast cancer in her other breast, and they thought she was going to need chemo at first, but then she ended up having surgery and radiation. But, then they ended up doing a different kind of chemo, and that worked, so she had beat it once again. When you have breast cancer you are at a higher risk of having a second cancer, so in 2008 she was diagnosed with colon cancer, and that was her “second” cancer. They came up with a treatment plan because it was pretty bad. The treatment plan was 6 months of chemo, then surgery, then six more months of chemo. She did the first six months of chemo, and on the last day of her final round of
chemo she had a stroke, this was January 2009. This was a huge
setback because she had lost all movement on her left side and had to
go to rehab. She was in rehab for six months and then on July 1, 2009,
she had surgery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She then came home for a
little while, but then in January 2010, she started a trial in Pittsburgh. The trial was using her cancer cells to create a vaccine, like a personal chemo to treat the cancer. So, that meant she would be in Pittsburgh for a week every month. In March 2010 she was released from the trial due to negative results. The scans showed that not only could the trial not fight the cancer but that it had grown. She came home and did treatment from March until December, so she was on and off doing chemo in Macon and Atlanta. But, in December 2010, we were sat down and told that the cancer was too aggressive to beat, and it then became a waiting game. We knew she wasn’t going to make it, but
we didn’t know how long she had. Slowly the cancer progressed, and on
April 9, 2011, she passed away.

JB: So obviously that was a really hard time in your life, how would you say that you got through it? How did you come out of it?

SCN: I was only in the sixth grade, so my faith was definitely apparent
at the time, but it has grown exponentially since then. My family was
a huge part of helping me through it, and they were so reliant on the
Lord which helped me to rely on him and them as well.

JB: So tell me more about your family; immediate and extended?

“My dad is the glue that holds us together, he is our hero.”

SCN: In my immediate family, I have three siblings, and they are all
older than me. My sister is 22, and her name is Summer Dawn. My
youngest brother is 24, and his name is Smisson. My oldest brother is
26, and his name is Ford. We are all really close, and I think losing
our mom brought us even closer. Growing up we were raised to be best
friends, and to be super close, which we do very well. My dad is the
glue that holds us together, he is our hero. Obviously, they are all
graduated from college now, but they all went to the University of
Georgia to follow in my dad’s footsteps and because we were raised to
be Dawg fans. Even when they were in college, we all stayed close and
talked every day. My sister and I are best friends, and my brothers are
best friends, so it works out well. My extended family is really close
in proximity and in age. We all live in Macon, and I am the youngest
cousin while my oldest cousin is 36. There are a ton of us all around,
and because we grew up so close, all my older cousins feel like my
siblings. My oldest cousins all have kids now which makes it fun
because when I was the youngest I got spoiled and now we get to spoil
the babies. I am also really close to my mom’s sister, Dawn; she is
like having a little piece of my mom with me.

Sanford Caroline and her family celebrating July fourth in Grand Cayman in 2018.

JB: You said your Dad and your siblings went to The University of Georgia, but you chose Georgia College. What would you say some of the pros and cons have been with that decision?

SCN: So I did choose GC because I am naturally a homebody and a huge
family girl. I wanted to be close to home for sure, so that is a pro. I
am only 45 minutes from my house, door to door. I can get home
whenever I need to, so I don’t miss out on anything which is great. I
love that GC is a small school. Macon is such a small town, and
Milledgeville is just like Macon. Some cons are that it is hard not
having game days on Saturdays, like in Athens, but I do still get to
go. It is tough not being able to say that I didn’t follow in my
siblings and dads footsteps. Our family is pretty well-known in
Athens, so coming here I had to retell my story which was tough.
Having to reintroduce to all my new friends the story of losing my mom
was hard and making people get used to that. I didn’t want people to
feel bad for me, and I wanted them to know who I am and how my family
is. Being in my second year, I am adjusted to it.

JB: You have talked a lot about Macon, do you think you will live there after college or do you think you will move away?

“I want my kids to hopefully grow up how I grew up and be surrounded by family all of their lives.”

SCN: Yes! I will definitely move to Macon; honestly I would like to
say that I will go somewhere else for a couple of years after I graduate,
but knowing me, I will go straight to Macon because it is my favorite
place ever, and I just want to be with my family. I want my kids to
hopefully grow up how I grew up and be surrounded by family all of
their lives.

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