At Gardner Edgerton High School, Ashley Gorney spends her days teaching the language she loves, Spanish.
But this fall she received a lesson herself - a lesson in the fragility of life.
"It was Oct. 1, so it was kind of the beginning of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month," said Gorney. "I did a self exam that night and found a lump."
Within six days, doctors confirmed Gorney's fear - it was stage two breast cancer.
"Just shock," said Gorney. "I mean I couldn't believe that it was happening, but knew that I was in a good place for care and treatment and knew that I had a lot of support."
Little did she know how much support.
With Gorney's hair falling out just two weeks after starting chemo, her husband, who also teaches at the school, believed there was only one thing to do.
"So I shaved my head," said Jerad Gorney.
Then so did one of the history teachers. And one of the French teachers. So did the school's principal and assistant principals. And then so did at least 15 others.
"Honestly that was more emotional for me than me shaving my own head. I cried when the guys did it and I didn't when I shaved my own head," said Ashley Gorney.
With more rounds of chemo and surgery ahead of her, doctors say Ashley Gorney's prognosis is good.
The Spanish teacher now wears a wig, but it doesn't cover up how she feels about her coworkers simple act of kindness - their love language.
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Justin Wilfon can be reached at justin.wilfon@kshb.com.
