When times got tough for Amy Maxwell, she’d ask herself WWAD? -- What Would Alicia Do? -- before she decided on a course of action.
“I had to think about what Alicia would do,” said Ms. Maxwell, of East Point, speaking of her older sister. “Because thinking about it like that helped me be a little sweeter, respond a little nicer than maybe I would have.”
Alicia Maxwell was known for her positive, upbeat approach to everything, even when the odds were not in her favor. It was that attitude that helped get her family through the roughest period of her life, said Bernard Moussa, her husband of 10 years.
In 2008, Ms. Maxwell was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 30 years old and had no family history of the disease. During an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that year, Ms. Maxwell told a reporter that prior to her diagnosis, she exercised regularly, ate organic foods, did not smoke and avoided stress.
Ms. Maxwell decided since she couldn’t change her diagnosis, she could control her response to the news. She had a lumpectomy followed by five rounds of chemotherapy and three months of radiation, and the cancer went into remission. She also continued full speed ahead in her doctoral studies at Georgia State University, where she was working on a degree in physical therapy.
“After the diagnosis she made a wish board,” her husband said. “She wanted to graduate, us to buy a house, get a dog … she put it all on the board.”
And although the cancer returned in 2010 in her liver and lungs, she and Mr. Moussa remained busy ticking items off the board. They bought the house, got the dog and she graduated, he said.
“She also wanted to meet Conan [O'Brien], so we flew to L.A. to see the show live and she met him afterwards,” said Mr. Moussa, who lives in Atlanta. “Then she wanted to see the Redwoods in San Francisco, but before we did that, we spent a couple of days at a winery. That was on my wish board.”
Josh Maxwell, of Douglasville, said his sister was always tenacious, but her determination emerged even more after her cancer diagnosis. He said she “doubled up on her will to get things done during this very difficult time,” adding that she did it all with grace, beauty and a sense of humor.
“She could rock the bald look like no one I know,” he said. “And she always had a smile on her face and wanted others to smile too.”
Two days before her 35th birthday, one of Ms. Maxwell’s doctors recommended she go to the hospital because her sodium levels were dangerously low. Mr. Moussa hoped it would not be a long stay, so she could celebrate her birthday at home. But June 1 rolled around and she was still a patient at Northside Hospital, which she jokingly renamed that day.
“She’d tell everyone, ‘My husband is so thoughtful, he brought me to Hotel Northside for my birthday,'" Mr. Moussa said. “And when she went for X-rays, she told everybody, ‘I’m going to the spa now.’ She really tried to keep it light.”
Alicia Sarah Maxwell, of Atlanta, died June 6 at Northside Hospital of cancer-related complications. She was 35. She wanted to be cremated and asked her family to hold a private ceremony.Cremation Society of Georgia was in charge and a memorial service was held Sunday at the couple’s home.
“She loved this house so much, I thought this would be a perfect place to remember her,” her husband said. “And I don’t think she lost her battle with cancer. In so many ways, I think she won.”
Ms. Maxwell is also survived by her mother, Debbie Maxwell, of Union City; and her father, Steve Maxwell, of East Point.
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