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| "Bea Selling Raffle Tickets" Oil on Canvas. 2021. 30" x 24" |
Bea Swafford inherited her NF from her mother whose NF was due to a spontaneous gene mutation. She died at only 40 years of age leaving six children under the age of 10, two of whom had NF. Bea believes her death was due to NF complications. Bea's dad remarried right away and the family started seeing her stepmother's son's pediatrician who referred her and her 'bad leg' to Seattle Children's Hospital for evaluation. That happened in October, 1970. Bea had many tumors in her left thigh and a bowed tibia. In the beginning, the doctors just wanted to amputate her entire leg but the wrath of her step mom was greater than their limited knowledge. Bea wore an ankle brace until they could find a way to fix her bowing leg. She was 8 years old. April 11, 1972 was the big day and I was in the hospital until the end of May.
In between all the surgeries and numerous doctor visits, Bea was an 'average' child with good grades, busy in her church. She truly loved being with her siblings. She made it through high school with only one surgery which was to remove a mass of tumors on her ovary and abdominal cavities.
After graduation, Bea lived on her own, worked and learned about adult life After a few office jobs, she started working at a steak house where she met her future husband, Phillip. They have been married for over 30 years and have an adult son (who does not have NF) Nolan.
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| Prep Sketch for Bea Selling Raffle Tickets |
Back in 1994, Bea had a C-spine surgery due to her NF. It nearly paralyzed her. Her hair was past her shoulder blades and her dominant arm had 'shut-down' with the hair as a tangled mess. She had a hair-dresser friend come cut it and wanted to donate it, but it couldn't be untangled. Bea set a goal that if her hair were to grow after the trauma (at neck) and if her arm would work to comb it, she would grow it to her knees then donate it. It took 10 years and 10 months and she was able to donate a 39" braid. Since April of 2010, Bea has donated 96" to Wigs4Kids. This upcoming May 2021, Bea will have her second C-spine surgery.
Bea is very active on social media and tries to share various NF postings from different NF charities. She tries to remind people to "Be Positive!"
On the day I finished Bea's portrait, she passed away due to NF complications. She had gone in to have some tumors removed from her lungs when the lungs collapsed. She was intubated and put into hospice.
On the day I finished Bea's portrait, she passed away due to NF complications. She had gone in to have some tumors removed from her lungs when the lungs collapsed. She was intubated and put into hospice.
