A 90-year-old who has been diagnosed with cancer has decided to travel the world rather than undergo potentially life-saving treatment.
For the past six months, Norma has been travelling around in a campervan with her son Tim, daughter-in-law Ramie and poodle, Ringo.
Routine tests discovered blood in Norma’s urine, which then led to her diagnosis of a large cancerous mass on her uterus.
During this time, her husband Leo died. Two days later, Norma, accompanied with her family, were back at the doctors listening to treatment options, including radiation and chemo.
Norma’s daughter-in-law Ramie documented how the meeting went down.
Norma and her son Tim on a hot air balloon ride
She said: “When the doctor was finished he asked her how she would like to proceed.
“A tiny woman at 101 pounds and under five-feet tall, an exhausted Norma looked the young doctor dead in the eye and with the strongest voice she could muster, said, ‘I’m 90-years-old, I’m hitting the road.’
“The doc and the confused first-day medical student who was shadowing him looked at Tim (Norma’s son) and me for some clarification.
“She made it VERY clear to us that she had no interest in any treatment.”
Norma’s family were in complete support of her decision, with Ramie saying how difficult it would be for Norma to live at home without Leo, because they were such a strong team.
So, the alternative to staying at home was to go on the trip of a lifetime.
“Norma currently is not in pain, her mind is sharp, she loves to travel, and she is remarkably easy to be around.
“We explained to the well-meaning doctor and his student that we live in an RV and that we will be taking her wherever she wants to go.
The doctor encouraged them to travel, telling Norma and her family there was “no guarantee” she’d survive surgery to remove the mass.
For the last six months, the family have been travelling around. They’ve visited several national parks around the US, and been to China and Europe.
Norma’s cancer symptoms have actually reduced since embarking on her vacation, and she is still as positive as ever.
Ramie and Tim created a Facebook page called Driving Miss Norma to document their incredible travels. The page is being followed by more than 26,500 people.
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