Kassie Carter says she feels that she was born to reach out and help others.
“I’m just that type of person,” she said. “I just love bringing joy to other people. I love helping people. That’s just me. If I can do something to help somebody else, my day has been made.”
Carter, the mother of three, is a retired special education teacher. She spent 21 years as a teacher, including the last 17 at Greenwood’s Davis Elementary School, where she helped many students with disabilities.
Her motivation and passion for her career came from her youngest child, who has nonverbal autism. ‘“During those years teaching, I learned so much about special needs individuals, which is my passion,” she said.
Although Carter enjoys caring for and helping others, she had to begin making herself and her health a priority when she was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer five years ago.
When the doctor said she had cancer, Carter’s mind-set was, “I’m ready to do what I need to do, because I want to live.”
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Carter, 63, is a native of Ackerman, where she graduated high school.
She attended Coahoma Community College. Two years later, she transferred to Mississippi Valley State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business education in 1980.
“I always wanted to teach,” said Carter. “I was inspired by a high school business economics teacher. ... She taught me typing in high school and economics, and I just admired her intellect, her profile and the way she dressed. She was so professional, and I emulated that, and I wanted to be like her.”
After graduating from Valley, however, Carter could not find an opening for a business education teaching position. So she began working as a secretary for MVSU’s Air Force ROTC department, where she worked for eight years.
In 1981, she married her husband, Richard, whom she had dated since high school. The couple have three children — Katrina Cotton, who is a nurse practitioner; Terica Johnson, who is a school psychometrist; and Chris Carter, the son who was diagnosed with autism as a young child.
“After having a disabled child, I decided to learn as much as I could about disabilities, and so I went back to school and studied the area of special education,” said Carter.
She started off teaching remedial reading at S.V. Marshall High School in Tchula and then landed the job in special education at Davis Elementary. While at Davis, she continued her studies, eventually earning a master’s degree in special education from MVSU.
“Just the experience of working with special needs children was so gratifying for me, I think mainly because of my own personal child,” she said.
Carter had the patience to help each child learn at his or her own pace and got joy out of the small victories.
“We take learning for granted, but when you have someone with special needs show progress in an area, it is just so fulfilling for you as a teacher,” said Carter. “I love the 17 years that I spent in the classroom, because the students taught me as well as me teaching them.”
Carter took Chris with her everywhere she went, including some professional meetings. Her son was well-behaved, but she get some odd looks from other staff members.
“That encouraged me to keep going because I thought, ‘I can’t back down because the public doesn’t really understand that this child is autistic, and they didn’t know what that is,’” said Carter.
So Carter kept bringing Chris to different events and introducing him to different environments and settings.
Chris, now 32, has been living for the past four years at Beacon Harbor, a home for developmentally disabled adults in Greenwood. Placing Chris there was “the hardest decision in the world for me to make,” Carter said.
What motivated her decision was her cancer diagnosis.
“I looked at things differently,” said Carter. “I’ve got this special needs individual, and what if the worst should happen? I don’t want to face him being left alone. I thought hard about it.”
Currently, Chris is enjoying having some independence, but he also likes coming home on the weekends to spend time with his family.
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Carter was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2013.
In October 2012, she had an annual mammogram, which was clear. About two months later, Carter began to notice something in her left breast that just didn’t feel right. Because she had just had a mammogram and was focused on taking care of her gravely ill father, Carter said she dismissed the warning sign at first.
“Sometimes, we get so weighted down with stuff going on around us that we forget about ourselves,” she said.
Carter kept feeling a knot and finally went to see a doctor.
“It turned out to be cancerous,” she said. “It was quick progression.”
The cancer could have escalated even more had Carter waited five more months for her annual mammogram.
As soon as the doctor told her the diagnosis, Carter said, “Where do we go from here? What do I need to do?”
Rather than crying or feeling despair, Carter’s immediate reaction to receiving the diagnosis was to fight.
“I was positive. I was not going to let it throw me. I wasn’t going to give in to it,” said Carter. “Chris was in the back of my mind. Even when the doctor was telling me I have cancer, Chris was in my mind. That’s why I said, ‘Tell me what to do,’ because I wanted to live.”
Carter had a mastectomy, followed by 16 rounds of chemotherapy over six months.
“I like to say I graduated in January of 2014,” said Carter. “The cancer center presented me with a certificate after my last treatment. The nurses cried. I cried. My daughter cried. It was just such an emotional occasion, and I was so elated. I was so thankful to God that I made it through. It was such a celebration.”
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Carter recently reached the 5-year mark of when she began chemotherapy and is considered in remission.
During her treatments, her doctor advised her to get in some type of physical exercise daily for at least 30 minutes. She was also advised on healthy nutrition.
Today, Carter continues to make health a priority and walks every day.
“My cancer is my motivation,” said Carter. “Prior to the cancer, I really had a nonchalant attitude about exercise. After being diagnosed with cancer, every morning at 6 o’clock I’m at the track. That’s been a blessing.”
Carter enjoys spending time with her son, Chris, when he comes home on the weekends. She also enjoys being with her three grandsons — Kaleb Cotton, Kadren Cotton and Jayden Pittman.
Carter is the secretary of GLASS (Greenwood-Leflore Autism Spectrum Society), where she continues to advocate for children with disabilities.
She is also active at her church, Sycamore Street Church of God.
“I love my church,” said Carter.
Currently, she and other church members are gearing up for their annual Thanksgiving dinner, which is held by the church and her pastor’s organization, Montrell Greene Ministries. The group plans to feed 2,000 people in need. Last year, they fed 1,000. The event will be held Nov. 19 at the Leflore County Civic Center. Carter said the church is still seeking volunteers to help give out the meals. Those interested can call Carter at 455-4393.
Carter also volunteers her time reading to preschool and kindergarten children in the Begin with Reading program.
“I love that program,” said Carter. “I just love the children. They are so enthusiastic. Once I start to read to them, they really get involved. It’s so fulfilling, because they love for you to read to them. I’ve always read to my grandkids, so I just feel like, ‘This is what we do.’ I love to see the smiles on their faces.”
•Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
