Stephanie Blas and family.
She’s special.
A lot of people came and went during my 12 years at Videoville, and Stephanie (Bonacci) Blas remains in the top 1% of my former co-workers.
Back in 2004, when Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights was all the rage — well, in her DVD player at least — I harassed Miramax, Lionsgate, Buena Vista International, and Ingram Entertainment in pursuit of anything and everything released to promote the film.
Stephanie thought the film’s star, Diego Luna (back before he starred in Star Wars: Rogue One), was the bee’s knees, so if there was a poster or piece of paper with him dancing on it, we needed to make sure someone was mailing it to Coupeville.
That was 18 years ago, and things have changed a bit since then.
Miss Bonacci became Mrs. Blas, and she and her husband Kevin — a pretty good dude who kind of looks like Diego Luna a bit, if you squint — are raising sons Liam and Luke.
I left Videoville in 2006, though I still see Stephanie from time to time, thanks to her being the aunt of several of Coupeville’s more prominent athletes.
At 37, one thing remains the same as it was when she was 19 — she is sunshine made human, one of the kindest people you will ever meet.
So, I wish this story was being written for some other reason.
The reality though, is Stephanie has been battling breast cancer since April.
She has Ductal Adenocarcinoma, ER/PR positive, HER2 negative, likely in late stage 2 or early stage 3.
Treatment will likely include chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation, and will greatly disrupt life for Stephanie and her family.
With that in mind, as she begins her fight, Stephanie’s sister Sherry is launching a meal train to ease the transition.
Anything you can do, from meals to gift cards to prayer (if that’s your thing), will be a major help to a young woman who exudes grace, kindness, and joy in everything she does.
For more info or to sign-up, pop over to:
https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/o01dwn
PS — If Diego Luna’s people see this, Stephanie could probably also use an updated photo. Just sayin’.
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