MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — Marcella Bynum recalled wanting to be a nurse when she grew up.

"My mom died of cancer when I was 14, and I saw the way nurses took care of her," Bynum said.

However, Bynum found new interests — and new ways to care — as she entered adulthood.

"I worked with special needs children at Muskogee Public Schools. That was my niche," she told the Muskogee Phoenix (http://bit.ly/2qMmMA9 ). "I worked with children who needed a little love and attention."

Bynum began working as a direct care specialist at Oklahoma School for the Blind in 2004.

She also cares for horses and chicke...