CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A Charlotte mom who discovered she had a cancerous tumor in her foot while getting a pedicure is trying to turn her misfortune into something positive for others.
Jenn Andrews had her foot amputated Monday, but as a wellness coach, she asked everyone else to get out and move on a day when she knew would be stuck in a hospital bed. Right about the time Jenn went into surgery Monday morning, her friends and colleagues where she used to work hit the pavement in her honor.
The 33-year-old made the request last week in a Facebook video that now has more than 60,000 views – asking everyone to “Move for Jenn”. In it, she said, “Enjoy being able to do it, there might be a time when you can't.”
Jenn discovered a cancerous tumor in her foot after getting a pedicure in 2013. When the tumor came back, she made the brave decision to have it removed.
"All I could think of is, I have a 17-month-old and a three-month-old, and I don't want to miss out on my kids," Jenn told NBC Charlotte.
Her friends call her an inspiration.
“I am inspired by her daily, she is so brave, it’s powerful how many people she has touched,” Lauren Hassenzahl said.
That’s why Lauren and a group of Jenn's friends and former co-workers didn’t let Monday’s gloomy weather keep them from fulfilling her one request.
Arden Smith said, “In fact, her request, she said, 'Even if it is a rainy day, get out and move,' and so we did.”
Jenn's friend Jay Spence ran into the Concord-based singer of The Avett Brothers, and the two taped a motivational message for her.
“Just thinking about you. Move for Jenn,” Seth Avett said.
“Jenn’s a giving person, wants to challenge others to be better. While it’s a tough day for her, new lease on life, she's actively choosing to live,” said Spence.
Her friends say, in typical Jenn fashion, she already has a pretty amazing goal. She wants to run a 5k by the end of the year after getting a prosthetic.