Breast cancer boutique explores what’s next after EF-3 Tornado damages Rocky Mount business

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WTVD) — Keishia Justice remembers when the EF-3 tornado touched down in Rocky Mount in September.

Glass still coats the floor and debris is still scattered around from the destroyed medical supply business across the parking lot.

“When I walk through the doors for the second time that I have it, and to know that to come back and to see there her picture and her memorial has not been touched. That gives me a sense of a sense of gratitude or a sense of hope,” said Keishia Justice, Pretty Essentials Women’s Boutique.

Justice’s guardian angle is her mother, Lisa Justice Hickman who passed away from breast cancer in 2018. She is the reason Justice started Pretty Essentials Women’s Boutique and the Bosom Buddies Foundation, helping women find hope and feel complete after a cancer diagnosis.

“We offer post-operative garments and mastectomy products for those women who have gone through their surgeries. It helps them heal properly,” said Justice.

She was servicing a client when the dark clouds and wind rolled through four weeks ago.

“I’m still in shock that I have not really come to grips that this has really happened to me,” said Justice.

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With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month the eastern Carolina community is feeling the void.

“Halifax County, Wilson County, you name it. She does a great service. And what it does is not just the physical appearance, but the self-confidence that you get back your dignity. And it goes beyond bras. It goes beyond the wigs. It’s the family,” said Felicia Lynch, a breast cancer survivor and client. “You don’t get in this club because you want to it just happens. And she happens to be so dedicated and so empathetic that you feel at home with her.”

Justice said it could be months before she’s back into this sanctuary.

“We’re missing the ease of knowing we’re going to have this place. I have an appointment coming up with her the middle of November. And you know, if Keisha has it her way and I know her as well as I think I do, she may very well have a place by then,” said Lynch.

With lots of paperwork and more clean up ahead, Justice is thankful the property manager is not binding them to a lease.

She’s exploring a new location and maybe a partnership with a medical center.

“I do believe that, that is a step in the right direction to help us move forward, to get back to servicing the community and the people, the women that we need to service,” said Justice.

Keishia Justice’s foundation Bosom Buddies will have a Charity Gala on Dec. 7 at NC State University at 6pm.