Woman Celebrating Four Years Cancer-Free Also Survives Freak Tree Accident

I’ll be honest: if I were Amanda Shank, a small part of me might be questioning if there was some kind of personal smoting campaign going on. Shank, who lives in Arlington, VA, was in Annapolis with her mother this weekend for a regular checkup with her oncologist and to celebrate four years in remission from Hodgkins Lymphoma. In the middle of the night, a big poplar tree on the Shanks’ property crashed into the house—her bedroom, specifically—and stopped just short of falling on her. She tried to sit up, at which point plaster and roof trusses started coming down on her, and managed to bust ass out of the room.

The Shanks were informed by the professionals who came to take care of the situation that if they hadn’t had a second chimney, the tree would have continued slicing all the way down to the basement, potentially killing one of them. That night, the women slept in the kitchen.

So here’s to you, Amanda Shank! The glass is half full, and you’re a two-time survivor. Sommmmebody needs a glass of Pinot.