(Editor’s Note: This is the fifth in a series of stories highlighting recipients of this year’s Inspiring: Women Awards luncheon. Read more here.)
Regan Braddix knows what it’s like to lean on the everlasting arms.
“That’s all I have. God has been there for me forever. I had to rely on God for everything I am and have,” said Braddix, an Augusta nurse, whose faith has gotten a workout over the past several years.
Sometimes faith moves mountains; at other times, it’s the quiet fuel that helps to make it just one more day.
Her faith foundation came early in life.
She grew up with a single mom and two siblings, but when Braddix was only 15, her mother died, leaving her with an older sister and brother who she said was more like a father-figure. She relied on both of them.
After she graduated high school, she went into nursing; starting off as a licensed practical nurse before becoming a registered nurse.
Marriage and children followed, and some personal goals were set aside for a few years. Braddix has two daughters and a son. Paul, the youngest child, turned 16 in July. Although he wasn’t formally diagnosed with autism until he was 4, Braddix saw signs of language delays at 2 and took him to a speech therapist.
With her husband, Anthony, working full-time, Regan found it was easier for her to work two part-time jobs so she could be flexible for Paul’s medical and therapy appointments.
Not long after COVID, Braddix found her faith tested through a series of events.
She’d worked at University Hospital for much of her career. She worked in oncology for about six years and gastroenterology for a decade, but during COVID, she moved from the hospital setting to a position with a drug store chain which offered in-home health services.
She said she was hesitant to take the job at first because it was full-time, and she hadn’t worked full-time in many years, but with COVID, she found herself working out of her home. And the pay was the most she’d ever made.
It used her nursing skills, but also expanded her capabilities, but it was short lived.
“As soon as COVID let up, they let everyone go,” she said.
While navigating the job loss and trying to figure out what came next, her husband, Anthony was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2022.
He had surgery to remove one of his kidneys. About a year later, cancer was found in the remaining kidney, and he had an ablation.
“They got everything; he’s doing well,” she said.
Also in 2022, Anthony’s father passed away while Anthony was still grieving the death of his stepmother.
Braddix’s brother also had some health challenges during this time, suffering a brain bleed. She traveled to Illinois several times to check on him. And Braddix’s toddler granddaughter, Kennedy, also died. Throughout this, Braddix prayed every step of the way – asking for guidance in the job situation, asking for healing for her husband and brother, seeking wisdom for Paul, who in 2024, went through severe anxiety so much so that he refused to leave the house and go to school or church.
An answer to prayer came in the form of a therapist named Angelia who works with him a few hours each day. Braddix said she’s indeed been an angel, helping Paul so much that the family hopes he’ll return to the classroom this school year. He has started to go to church with his parents again.
Even in the midst of the many trials, Braddix decided to go back to school.
“I always wanted to get my bachelor’s degree,” she said.
In 2023, she finished her bachelor’s, and then Anthony and Regan both decided to pursue master’s degrees. Within months of each other they finished their coursework and walked across the stage at the same ceremony in November 2025.
Also in 2025, their daughter Tab graduated from high school. The three of them took celebratory photos together in their caps and gowns.
Life is never predictable. The family has weathered storms before and will weather them again, but she knows that her faith will always be there to get her through.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” she said. “God will carry us through.”
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named best local writer by readers of Augusta Magazine in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here
