Claudette RileySpringfield News-Leader
The Humansville school community has become family for Superintendent Tammy Erwin, so telling them about her daunting health diagnosis felt right.
Still, she had to summon the courage to write the Aug. 28 post.
"It's time for me to share some news. In July, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I have had two surgeries, and we are getting ready to make my next treatment plan," she typed.
"The thing about our Humansville family is when we get knocked down, we dust off and get back up again. Grit is what makes The Ville special. And that's what I am going to do."
The message, like Erwin, was straightforward and upbeat. She said going public was the responsible decision.
"I see us as a family and I knew I was going to miss work — and I never miss work — so rather than everybody guessing 'where is Dr. Erwin,' I thought 'I am just going to tell everybody what is going on,'" she said.
"Every morning when the students arrive at school, I am at the front door to greet them, to talk to them. I knew I was going to miss some days and that is not normal."
Her willingness to be open, to be vulnerable, has spurred teachers, support staff, and parents in the 350-student district just north of Bolivar in Polk County to rally. They responded with love and support.
A longtime parent, with the blessing of the school board president, quietly created shirts that read: "Her fight is our fight #TeamErwin."
Lacey Woods, the mother of three Humansville students and secretary of the school booster club, said she got the idea while praying for Erwin, something she said a lot of people have been doing lately.
"We asked her if there was anything we could do for her and she said 'I don't want any money, I don't want any gifts. I don't need anything like that.' She said, 'I just need your prayers, your love and support,'" Woods recalled.
"I thought we could do this as a community, as a school, just to show her we're here fighting this fight with her. She is not alone."
Erwin didn't know about the plan until the post announcing the shirts was made last week.
"I met with her last Tuesday to tell her about it. We both just cried, right there in the cafeteria," Woods said. "She said 'I don't know what to say other than thank you.'"
Woods hoped to sell 100 shirts — priced low, just to cover the cost — but more than 200 have been ordered so far. The order closes Sept. 22.
Most have been sold in Humansville, where Erwin has worked 20 years, and Walnut Grove, where she grew up. There have also been requests from Springfield, Fair Play and Dallas County.
"She is loved and respected in our community. She is like the 'Mama Tiger' to all our cubs at school," said Woods, who referenced the mascot of the one-campus school. "My oldest is in eighth grade and she has been there since he was in kindergarten. And I knew her growing up."
The shirts are expected to debut at an Oct. 2 home game against Walnut Grove in Humansville's new gym. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
'You are never too busy to get your mammogram'
Erwin, 49, suspected something was wrong earlier this year but put off getting checked out.
"I was raised to work hard, to go to work. I'm kind of stubborn and I didn't want to take time off work," she recalled. "I knew that I had a scheduled mammogram in July and spring is very busy with graduation, a lot of activities going on, so I thought, 'this can wait.'"
If granted a do-over, she would not have waited. Her grandmother, Nora Etta Erwin, died of breast cancer.
"I always felt I was too busy to take care of my health and if you don't take time to take care of your health, your health is going to take your time," she said.
"One of the biggest things I want to pass on to people is ladies, you are never too busy to get your mammogram."
A lump was confirmed at the July 1 appointment at Citizens Memorial Hospital. A biopsy showed it was an aggressive, fast-growing form of breast cancer.
"It was frightening ... totally uncharted territory. Not being in control of something is scary. The unknown is scary," she said. "I am not the first person or the only person going through this but it still feels daunting."
Her first surgery to remove the lump was Aug. 15, five days before the start of the school year and a school board meeting. She had to miss both.
"The pain medicine that I took for my first surgery made me very sick," she said.
A second surgery was scheduled after doctors found three additional areas of concern. In all, six inches of tissue have been removed from her right breast.
Erwin meets with a radiology team Sept. 22 to schedule weeks of intensive radiation treatment, which is expected to be grueling, but could be worse.
"I was very blessed that I don't have to have chemo," she said.
Erwin has given up caffeine and sugar in favor of flavored water and the occasional green tea. She is eating healthy, resting when needed and not googling the odds. She is putting trust in her CMH care team.
"I have been very conscientious of trying to do everything I can control," she said.
She said it helps for the school to know what is going on.
"Our custodians have been excellent about coming to me and saying 'There's a couple kids with stomach flu in third grade, you need to not go out when they're having lunch and hug on kids,'" she said.
Erwin splits game supervision duty with other school leaders and unbeknownst to her, they got together and divvied up most of her assigned games.
During the one basketball game she worked recently, the coach offered to grab a chair so she did not have to stand the whole time.
Jesse Carter, a coach and behavior specialist, said teachers and staff are keeping a watchful eye on the superintendent. He was among the employees she told this summer.
"We call her mom sometimes just because she takes care of everyone. She always puts everyone else before herself," he said. "It's definitely hard for her that she is the one we're looking after now, to make sure she is OK."
Carter said even when divulging a health scare, Erwin is a "straight shooter who does not sugarcoat things."
"At first, it was sadness for her because of who she is to me and who she is to people around here," he said. "Then it was, 'we have to pick up the slack a little bit and make things easier for her.' She said done it for us for so long and it is time to repay the favor."
The Humansville district is full of employees who have known Erwin for years. Carter, a 2009 graduate, remembers her as a teacher and principal.
"She is one of my heroes. I call her the GOAT just because she has coached so much and she has been around sports so much that anytime I have questions, I just go to her," he said. "She is one of the strongest women I know."
In a Sept. 17 interview, Erwin grew emotional talking about the support.
"This whole experience has made me more of a crier but it's because of how kind people have been, their reaction, just wanting to help," she said.
Friends and family have also been at her side. She has a sister in Kansas and her parents, Donald and Christine Erwin, are among the many family members in the Walnut Grove area.
"My uncle sends me an encouraging text or a funny meme or a Bible verse every single morning since all of this has been going on," she said.
'Find something you're good at, that you love'
A student athlete who played basketball in high school and college, Erwin briefly considered a career in nursing before finding the education path.
"We'd have summer camps and working with kids, I found that is where my heart was, where my talent was," she said. "If you can find something you're good at, that you love to do, that' is what you need to do."
Her undergraduate degree was from College of the Ozarks but her advanced degrees, including a doctorate, were from Southwest Baptist University.
Erwin has spent her entire career teaching and leading in small towns, like the one she grew up in.
"The connections I made with teachers when I was in school, that played a big part in my life as far as positive influence and support," she said.
"We are blessed here. I can watch a kid grow from pre-K to handing them their diploma at graduation."
Board president Cassie Ahlers said through this tough time, the community is returning the care Erwin has showed to families over the years.
"She is an incredible people-person. She is there for our teachers. She really thinks about children, like all the children as a whole. We could not ask for a better superintendent," she said.
More: Known for 'taking care of people,' Humansville named top Missouri rural district in 2023
An English teacher and coach, Erwin worked in Weaubleau, Fair Play and Osceola earlier in her career. Hired in Humansville, she taught and served as principal before becoming superintendent.
Under Erwin's leadership, the district has been lauded for finding resources and forging partnerships to serve families and meet challenges, including high poverty, and limited jobs and housing.
Among other things, the partnerships provide a weekend backpack program, on-site mental health and dental care, clothes, dual credit tuition, and sports and graduation attire.
Humansville was recognized by the Missouri Rural Education Association, which named it the Outstanding Rural School District for 2023.
In April 2022, voters approved a $3.2 million bond issue for a new air-conditioned gymnasium that seats 800.
Ahlers praised Erwn's willingness to share this health journey with others.
"She is very straightforward, but she is also pretty private," she said. "She is doing this to hopefully spread awareness too, because that is who she is. She has got a good heart."
(This story was updated to add more information).
