Just two weeks before the pandemic closed the world's doors, Kim and Chris Airhart sat side by side in a quiet doctor's office and waited. The technician who had performed Kim's CT scan hadn't been able to hide her concern, and now the silence felt heavy. At 41, Kim was a wife and a mother of five young children, with a full house and a full life ahead of her. She had never once heard the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Then came the diagnosis that changed everything: stage 3C ovarian cancer. "The look on my husband's face was one I will never forget," Kim recalls. "We both just cried and prayed."
But this is not a story about what cancer took from Kim. It is a story about how she chose to give back. Out of the loneliest season of her life came Harts of Teal, a sisterhood of women who walk this road together, and a mission that now reaches thousands of women and families across Georgia. "I think this organization and the women we represent have given me my life back, my husband his wife back, and my kids their mom back," she says.
Isolated by the pandemic, Kim leaned heavily on her faith, and little by little, she began finding other women who had heard the same diagnosis. "Having other women to walk with is everything," she says. These brave women all share the same fears, side effects, medications, scans, and recurrences. “You can just be where you are and don't have to give the backstory or defend your feelings or anxiety."
Those friendships became the foundation for a movement that would become Harts of Teal. Founded in 2021 with her friend and fellow survivor Andrea Sisler, the women call one another Teal Sisters, and they gather every month around the dinner table. Sadly, Andrea fell victim to ovarian cancer in December 2025 and is deeply missed by the women she helped bring together.
"We give answers when we can, offer compassion, pray with one another, offer encouragement, and check on one another along the way," says Kim. Having them all together each month makes Kim happy and continues to fuel her passion for her fellow survivors. "The women we serve," she says, "have become the very heartbeat of this organization." Kim's son Carter, 13, has watched those friendships grow. "It felt like all of her Teal Sisters came together, and their relationships grew stronger," he says.
Her husband and five children keep her going, too. "I have to turn this pain into purpose somehow," she says, "and show them that we can choose how we let our hardships affect us." For Harrison, 12, “I am proud of my mother for being so strong throughout her battle with cancer.”
"Sure, life looks really different, but things also feel more intentional and less about rushing through the day-to-day," she says. "I want to understand where my family is and meet them there, show them to turn to God in hard times, and use these trials to build us up and reform us, rather than letting life consume us and steal our joy.”
When Kim heard the word cancer, her mom, Bobbie Bragassa, was already in town for a visit. She never left. For six months, Bobbie cared for her daughter, her son-in-law, all five grandchildren, and the household. "She never once complained or made me feel like a burden. She is my best friend," says Kim.
That kind of love gets passed down. Even through chemotherapy, Kim was still mothering her own children, and today they are giving that love back. "I will never be able to repay her for all that she has given to me," says her son Hayes, 17. At the first Harts of Teal Color Run, Hayes gave it everything he had. "He ran so hard he cried afterward and told me he did it all for me," Kim says. "It was one of the sweetest moments of my life."
“I would want her to her to know how proud I am of her ” says her daughter Kate, 16, “and to know that she has impacted my life too."
Chris has been beside her through it all. "With everything Kim has been through, she's never lost sight of our family," he says. "We’ve been married for 20 years and I'm thankful that she's still the woman I married."
Kim wants everyone reading this to know the signs she didn't. Knowledge can save lives. Before her diagnosis, she thought her bloating was just baby weight that never left after her fifth child. Bloating that won't go away, feeling full quickly, pain in your abdomen or pelvis, and changes in your bathroom habits that last more than two or three weeks are all worth a call to your doctor. There is no screening test for ovarian cancer.
“My mom has been there for me my whole life,” says Holden, 9, “and she always stands up for me.” Kim is quick to count her blessings: the survivors who pray for her as she prays for them, a community that kept her family fed, and the mother who never left her side. "Cancer has changed me, my perspective, and given me empathy for people who are hurting, scared, and need a renewed sense of hope."
Please join Harts of Teal for Shining Light: A Night of Hope on Thursday, December 17, at Trilith LIVE, featuring Slippery When Wet, a Bon Jovi tribute band. Visit HartsofTeal.org for tickets and more information.