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An Incredible Battle and a Beautiful Baby

One woman's amazing personal story of surviving breast cancer during pregnancy

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(July 1, 2005) — Heidi Floyd, our dear friend and Vera Bradley employee, was all too familiar with breast cancer long before she joined the company. But her unbelievable story during 2004 and 2005 would lead her on a personal journey that has truly inspired us all.

Heidi Floyd with her children: Noah, Bella,
Alex and Catherine.

Having lost her mother to breast cancer, Heidi originally sought a position at Vera Bradley particularly because of the company’s commitment to finding a cure for this disease. She, her husband, Stuart, and their three girls, Alex, Catherine and Bella, moved to Fort Wayne. Then, shortly after joining Vera Bradley, Heidi and her husband were delighted to find out she was pregnant with their fourth child.

Unexpectedly - and already into her first tri-mester - Heidi was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She was told that an abortion would be required, and that there was no other alternative. To Heidi, this was a horrifying prospect. With the help of her Vera Bradley family, she immediately began regular chemotherapy treatments at the I.U. Cancer Center in Indianapolis under the supervision of George W. Sledge Jr., M.D. and Dr. Robert Goulet, Jr., MD. Having treated pregnant women before, Dr. Sledge assured Heidi that both she and baby would be fine.

Chemotherapy continued throughout Heidi's pregnancy – from October 2004 to March 2005 – and she finished only two weeks before their little boy, Noah, was born.   He is a strong and healthy, rambunctious little boy who shows no evidence of having gone through the trauma of in-utero chemotherapy. Just after Noah arrived, Heidi had a lumpectomy, which showed clear lymph nodes and a good pathology report! She then followed a course of radiation therapy here in Fort Wayne. Heidi told us, “My little miracle boy is alive and healthy today because of the people at Vera Bradley and the work of the Vera Bradley Foundation.  God has truly blessed me in so many ways!”

Heidi and Noah’s amazing story is a very personal and poignant reminder to us of why we will remain committed to fighting this elusive disease.