‘Thanksgiving Grandma’ and the teen she accidentally texted won’t let breast cancer keep them from their annual dinner

By Graham Hurley, CNN

(CNN) — The “Thanksgiving grandma,” who accidentally texted a dinner invitation to a teen she’d never met, invited him anyway and went viral for her kindness, is facing a new challenge as the holiday approaches.

Wanda Dench is receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer, she said in a statement posted by Jamal Hinton, the young “stranger” she texted eight years ago when he was in high school.

The accidental friends have celebrated Thanksgiving every year since 2016, when Dench thought she was texting one of her six grandchildren but reached Hinton in the middle of a class.

Yearly Thanksgiving at Grandma’s

Hinton texted Dench back, asking her who she was, thinking his own grandmother had a new phone number. To confirm, he asked her for a photo and was surprised to see a photo of Dench. He jokingly asked if he could still grab a plate of Thanksgiving dinner.

Dench responded, “Of course you can. That’s what grandmas do … feed everyone!”

Surprised by her kindness, he posted the exchange to social media and it went viral.

Since the “accident,” the two have become close friends, bonding over Thanksgiving meals since then, in good times and bad. Wanda’s husband Lonnie passed away from complications from Covid-19 in April 2020, and Hinton has continued to join her in support.

This year, the unlikely friends face a different challenge.

A surprise diagnosis

On October 16, Hinton posted a statement on his X and Instagram accounts from Dench on her ongoing battle with breast cancer.

After retelling the story of how they met and how the encounter has changed both of their lives for the better, Dench explained how a CT scan to inspect her lungs after coming down with bronchitis showed a mass in her breast. She later received a mammogram and a diagnosis of breast cancer.

It came as a surprise to Dench, who explained, “Cancer does not run in my family and all the mammograms I had in the past were always negative,” she said in the post.

“In 2022, I turned 65 years old and I thought I would have my last mammogram and not have to think about it again. But I was wrong,” she continued.

Her diagnosis initially shocked her, but it has introduced her to several “wonderful people” throughout her treatment, she explained. She ended by encouraging people to enjoy their lives and make sure they get regular checkups.

“I’ve learned a lot of life’s lessons through it all, but what I want to stress most of all is just because you may be older, we still have a life to live,” she said in the post. “So continue getting your checkups, and continue to live YOUR life!”

Dench’s treatment will not hinder this year’s Thanksgiving get-together. She and Hinton plan to meet for the holiday next month to continue their annual tradition, started by a texting typo and flourishing with a connection in real life.

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