From a technical standpoint, she is listed as the driver of Bus #259 for the Harrison County Board of Education. From a personal standpoint, she is the individual who has safely taken care of many of your children in Bridgeport full-time since 2010.

 

For roughly 15 years, including a part-time stint and 11 years doing the current Bridgeport schools’ stint, the woman helping to make sure your children get to and from school safely – Rae Lynne White – could use a little bit of help. And already, the community is beginning to step up.

 

Recently, White was diagnosed with cancer and announced publicly she had it on April 21. She has Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, and after recent testing it has been listed at Stage 2 in a cancer that goes from Stages 1 through 3.

 

For those wanting a little more information on it, our friends at the Mayo Clinic define it as the following:

 

“Multiple myeloma is a cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell. Healthy plasma cells help you fight infections by making antibodies that recognize and attack germs. In multiple myeloma, cancerous plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow and crowd out healthy blood cells. Rather than producing helpful antibodies, the cancer cells produce abnormal proteins that can cause complications.”

 

The battle against keeping it at bay has begun. On Tuesday, May 2, she had her first chemotherapy treatment with planned treatments moving forward every Tuesday and Friday for 12 weeks.

 

As with any cancer, treatments, and doctor’s appointments, even with insurance, end up racking up financial and emotional stress. Right now, some in the community are hoping to ease that burden. Jamie Cox is helping to lead the charge.

 

Not that she had any doubt that she needed to step up to help a person she considers a friend, but had there been any, what White told her relating to letting the children on her bus know, including her own children, would have erased it.

 

Cox has two children right now – Kaedan who is an 8^th grader at Bridgeport Middle and Levi who is in 3^rd grade at Johnson Elementary – who are passengers on White’s bus. She also has two daughters – since graduated from BHS – who were regulars on Bus #259. When she talked with White about her diagnosis, her concern was for her children on the bus.

 

“She told me she was worried about how the children would handle it. She also told me she was worried about telling my Levi,” Cox said.

 

This is where people need to understand that nurturing from the best in the education system often extends beyond the classroom to professionals such as Rae Lynne White. Cox said Levi has some sensory issues and can get worked up at times. Through her personal relationship with him, White has learned when he needs the one thing that calms him down – a hug.

 

“Squeezing always works with Levi, and a hug is the best way for that. She loves to give him a hug, particularly when she knows he needs it,” said Cox. “The amazing thing is that is what she was worried about; how the kids would handle that she’s close to … Her entire world is changing, and she is concerned with how those changes will affect those around her.”

 

Cox said caring is a White family trait. Her husband of 34 years, Ray, driver of Bus #239, also has taken care of kids in the Harrison County School District. In fact, along with her having a self-admitted love for children, it was his working as a bus driver that led her into the profession.

 

If you want to know a little bit more about how caring White is, consider this. Prior to her job driving a business, this dynamic woman who loves to cook, entertain, shoot pool, and ride motorcycles (the motorcylce involvement includes bike runs for children with special needs, animals, and even Toys for Tots) briefly ran an in-home business where she served as a caretaker for the terminally ill. 

 

Helping the terminally ill is not the only thing White and her husband have done. Cox let me know that during the White’s time together they have taken approximately 42 people into their home to help them out, straighten them up, lead them to drug recovery and teach them how to live.

 

“This is how she encompassed the nickname she is so fond of, Momma Rae,” said Cox.

 

As is often the case, those who help others have a difficult time asking for help when they need it. This is where Cox and others are stepping in.

 

So, how can you help?

 

Cox has started a t-shirt sale that has a shirt saying “Support Squad…Mrs. White” among other words and graphics. You can purchase the shirts by clicking HERE. There is also a donation part on the page where funds will be collected and sent to Rae Lynne White.

 

Donate if you can, and if unable, do what you certainly can do. Offer love and support. After all, it is always wise to take care of those who have taken care of your children. Rae Lynne White has done that for years.

 

Editor's Note: Rae Lynne White is shown in front of her familiar bus, while below she is whown with  Kaedan, left, and brother Levi Cox this week.