FARGO, N.D. (WDAY) – At a North Dakota grocery store, one longtime customer’s friendly conversation with a cashier turned out to be lifesaving.
When customers walk into the Cash Wise grocery store in Fargo, there’s no mistaking the friendly voice of cashier Elvira Gentry. Known for her kindness and warmth, Gentry is a fan favorite, with some customers waiting in line just to see her.
“This is just so refreshing, and you can feel her presence way back in the line,” said Pam Thorson, a nurse and longtime Cash Wise customer.
One day, as Thorson was in line getting ready to check out, she and Gentry started talking about breast cancer screenings.
“She goes, ‘I had my mammogram and got squished’ and all that stuff,” Thorson said.
The two laughed, but when Gentry heard it had been years since Thorson’s last mammogram, she encouraged her to get a checkup.
“She said, ‘I’m going to listen to you girl,’” Gentry said.
And Thorson did – she had a physical, ultrasound and mammogram. That mammogram led to an early breast cancer diagnosis, for which Thorson is now taking chemotherapy.
“When she called me and shared with me the results, it broke my heart,” Gentry said.
“She was like, ‘I am so sorry,’ but I told her that she was responsible for saving my life. I tear up every time,” Thorson said. “I am so lucky it got caught when it did, and if it hadn’t been for her, it never would have happened.”
Thorson’s husband also credits Gentry with saving his wife’s life, thanking the cashier recently over speakerphone.
“I was shocked. He said, ‘Elvira, I want to thank you for saving my wife’s life,” Thorson said.
Sometimes, we can’t predict who will cross out path or why. For Thorson, it was Gentry, the comforting, soft-spoken cashier at Cash Wise, and on this Thanksgiving, both are grateful.
“I love my customers, and I love what I do,” Gentry said. “You gotta love what you do to do what you do.”
Thorson will finish radiation treatment in two weeks.
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