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Andrea’s ordeal began in 2017 when she was just 26 years old. While traveling in Mexico with her grandmother, she experienced sudden, catastrophic cramping and heavy bleeding. Initially, she dismissed the pain, attributing it to a history of endometriosis. However, the situation quickly became life-threatening. Rushed to a hospital after losing three pints of blood, Andrea was told she likely wouldn’t survive the night due to a shortage of donor blood. In a miraculous show of community strength, her father rallied local donors, securing enough blood to save her life. It was only after this stabilization that doctors uncovered the devastating truth: Stage III colon cancer. At an age when most are beginning their professional lives and planning their futures, Andrea was given a prognosis of six months to two years. She defied those odds for nearly a decade.
For Andrea, those nine years were not a period of mourning for the life she expected, but an active pursuit of the life she wanted. She became a prominent figure in the California pageant circuit, earning titles such as Miss West Coast, Miss Nuestra Belleza USA, and Miss California Congeniality. Yet, her husband, Chris Wilson, often remarked that her physical beauty was the least interesting thing about her. They were together for eight years, sharing a bond forged in the fires of chronic illness. Chris frequently spoke of her authenticity and her ability to anchor him with her soul rather than her celebrity. To him, she was a warrior who chose to spend her limited energy uplifting everyone around her.
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