Local man makes Christmas decorations for cancer patients

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Cancer patients in our area are being gifted Christmas ornaments with a message of hope from a local.

Randy Barrs has made it his mission to create jewelry in memory of his wife Lynda, who always put others first.

He finds solutions to bring hope to someone in their darkest time.

The ringing of the bells marks an important milestone for a patient who has completed their cancer treatment.

“It’s just important to me to encourage patients as much as possible. You will ring that bell, finish your treatments, it will be successful and then take that bell home with you. It means a lot to me,” Randy said.

Lynda died in April last year after doctors discovered a brain tumor.

Randy says she was the type of person who always put others first.

“She was from Harrisburg, so she came from a very poor situation and, quite frankly, became a very successful community person. She was a scholarship recipient and received a lot of money for various programs in this area,” he said.

Now he’s giving something back to himself – something he started doing last year.

“I started thinking about decorations that all had bells and the first thing that came to mind was that I thought of Lynda as an angel, so I started making angels and putting bells on them.” said Randy.

This year he had another idea, still with Lynda in mind of course.

“Instead of making angels, I wanted to do something different this year. But I wanted to do it because I was getting so much positive input from people and nurses, so I got thinking and Lynda loved cardinals and she watched them in our backyard all the time,” Randy said.

300 cardinals, all with bells.

Randy says he started working on it in September and is using it to encourage others to stay positive.

He says he was like that throughout his treatment with Lynda.

“Even until a few days ago I thought that somehow we would manage to make it. I also like to encourage others. I always tell them that I think that’s part of beating this thing and that’s how you look at it and think about it and if you stay on the positive side you’re going to do a lot better,” he said.

Randy says he’s already thinking about what the ornaments will look like next year.

Until then, he says to anyone in a similar situation: stay hopeful.

“At some point there will be a cure for this, and until then, our job is to encourage anyone who suffers from it to do their best to overcome it and move on with their lives,” Randy said.