90-YEAR-OLD CANCER PATIENT REFUSES TREATMENT AND PUTS FORWARD AN UNUSUAL DEMAND IN FRONT OF HER SON

 

Life is made up of a bunch of sweet and bitter incidences. No matter how much you make plans for your future, life always has a way to surprise you. But if hurdles don’t come in your way there won’t be any fun in your day. But then, not every adventure or hurdle of life makes you a better person, sometimes it breaks you into pieces and you are left to gather them for the rest of your life. Although there’s always a perspective of a person that matters at the end. For one person the broken pieces might be beyond recovery and for the other, it might be a chance to reform the former structure. But what would you do if life astonishes you every time with its never-ending surprises, would you still be strong enough to face it or would you simply surrender? The protagonist of the story too faces such an untoward turn in her life but the way she handles the situation leaves her relatives flabbergasted!

World War 2

It was the year 1948 and the world had just gone through the devastating World War. A lot of damage had been caused by aggressive combat and many people had lost their lives and livelihood. But as time passed people tried to forget the war and started afresh, finding new motives in their long lost lives.

Aftermath

It had been 3 years since then and people had pretty much gone back to their normal routines. However, there were still some people finding their motives in life and one of them was the protagonist of the story, Norma. She had actively participated in nursing the people during the war and saved countless lives but after the turmoil had ended she seemed to have lost the motive of her life and her future seemed to be bleak.

Lost

Born in Ohio, she was an adventurer by heart but the war had made her lose her zeal. She rarely left her native place and went out of the states afterward. Though spring was at the doorstep and flowers had started to bloom everywhere, the consequences of the war were still afresh in her mind and hence, she would see everything in black and white. Nothing would excite her anymore. Would she be able to find the purpose of her life?

The Hot Day

It was one of the hot days and everyone was waiting for the clouds to cool down the wrath of the sun. Norma too was waiting for her train on that day but unexpectantly her wait seemed like forever. The sun was at the peak and it was becoming impossible for her to stand even in the shelter. She was sweating heavily and praying for the bus to come.

Thoughts

She jumped with happiness when she saw a bus coming from a distance, though she was little concerned about her clothes as they were completely soaked in sweat. But then she thought that the likelihood of meeting a known person was near to zero as it was really hot and wondered who would be out at this time of the day.

Embarrassed

She was slightly embarrassed when she saw the bus exceptionally full, she didn’t know what to do as she could not find a seat and the bus too had started to move. As she tried to find a seat she saw a man slightly shifting towards the window and signaling her to his direction. First, she was felt awkward but then she didn’t have any other choice. Would she consider taking a seat beside the strange man?

A Few Months Later

A few months had passed and the two strangers who had met on the bus were head over heels in love with each other. Soon they were getting hitched. It was love at first sight just like in a film, you meet someone and then you can’t imagine your life without him/her. Precisely, a fictional kind of love!

Hitched

In 1948, Norma and Leo became Mr. and Mrs. Bauserschmidt and another adventure had started whose rules were not known to them. But this adventure wasn’t going to be easy for them and they knew that. So they had promised each other that they won’t leave each other’s side no matter the hardships. In the following years, despite having a lot of financial problems they adhered to each other.

Joyous News

It is rightly said that life happens when you’re busy making plans. Years after their marriage they were blessed with a baby girl and named her Stacey. Norma felt like she had been reborn when the doctor put the little baby in her arms. She was extremely happy. She had thought about which school she would study in and which college she would attend when Stacey was just learning to balance her foot. But life had some other plans.

Untoward Event

She considered herself really lucky to have Stacey as her daughter, she was everything for her. She adored her and would fulfill her wishes. The thought of sending her away after high school would often give her nightmares and many sleepless nights. But life took an untoward twist and the couple lost their beloved child as soon as she was diagnosed with cancer.

Another Good News

It felt like she had again lost her motive in her life, she was completely shattered by the loss of her kid and didn’t know what to do in her life. Leo somehow managed to handle her. After a few years, things started to go back to normal when they welcomed their son in the world but it was difficult for Norma to forget her first child. Would it affect their relationship in the long run?

The Bond

She loved her son dearly but no one could fill the void in her heart that Stacey’s death had created. Still, she managed to give her attention to the kid’s upbringing. But due to the prior incidence, they lacked warmth in their bond and the kid felt more close to his father than his mother. They would occasionally talk to each other otherwise silence would prevail in the room.

Growing Up

Though the kid was never close to his mother, he too grew up to be adventurous just like her. But there was a slight difference between the two and that was he used to live the nomadic life he always dreamt of and Norma would just fantasize about it. She would often blame her age and knees for not coping up with her whereas her son Tim would take each hurdle as a challenge.

Soulmates

There was no doubt in the parent’s mind that Tim would marry someone who would be like him outgoing and adventurous. So when he told them about Ramie they were more than happy and soon the young couple got married in the church on the decided date.

Vaccum

After Tim had left with Ramie, the house seemed to like a prison to Leo. Though he was always prepared for the same, the bond that he shared with the kid was making it impossible for him to adjust to the stillness of the house. However, Norma didn’t feel any such void.

Changes

Things were changing just like the seasons of the year. Leo would often make Norma get out of her comfort zone even after her persistent refusals. But with time, Leo’s health was deteriorating too. He wasn’t able to do the daily tasks of the day and would often fall down on the floor even while going to the bathroom. Things were surely getting worse.

Brave

Norma acted like his knight in shining armor and handled the situation bravely. But the things were going out of her hands as Leo was soon bedridden and was unable to move a bit. He would often forget things and would always remain sad. Even Norma’s presence couldn’t make his sadness go away. He would often keep the telephone beside himself as Tim’s calls had become his only motivation to wake up the next morning.

The Phone Call

As  Leo’s health continued to deteriorate, she had no choice left but to call her son because now he was the only one who could save his life. He was astonished and without wasting any more time he booked his tickets along with his wife and packed their things to leave for the station.

Unexpected Answer

“She said, ‘Nope, I’m not doing any of that,’ says Ramie Liddle, Bauerschmidt’s wife. And everyone was shocked by her statement as Tim and Ramie had already decided that they would take her with them, but it seemed like Norma had her own plans already. What was on her mind?

Plans

She took a 2 minutes pause while everyone’s eyes were fixed on her she said, “I’m 90-years-old,” she said.”I’m hitting the road. Let’s go have some fun. I don’t want to spend another minute in the doctor’s office.”The doctor was amazed by her reaction because he had never seen a patient like her before. Was that going to be easy as it seemed to be like?

Dream

She had always dreamt of nomadic life, away from the hustle-bustle of the daily routines. Watching the sunset at one place and feeling the fresh air brushing against her face and birds chirping at the dawn in another country. Now it seemed to her that life was giving her a chance to be that vagabond in the last years of her life.

Packing Bags

Soon after they came back from the hospital, Norma started to pack her bags. Tim and his wife were still apprehensive of her decision so they decided to talk to her again. But it seemed like she had already made up her mind and was firm about her decision. So they too surrendered their selves in front of her decision and started packing to hit the roads again but now with their mother beside them. Tim was both excited and nervous. Would this journey bring any change in their relationship?

New Beginnings

They already owned an RV so there wasn’t much to think about and as the dawn broke Norma, Tim and Ramie along with their poodle Ringo started their journey. Norma had never been out of Michigan where she used to live with her husband so her son thought what would be better than starting off with the famous places of their own state.

Visiting Heartland

They started their journey by visiting Heartland which was associated with 12 states of the USA, two of them were Michigan and Ohio. They wanted to take the journey slow so that if there was any medical assistance needed they could get it on a priority basis. But Norma seemed to be carefree and wanted to enjoy her days as much as she could.

Trusting The Journey

Tim and Ramie too thought of just going with the flow and got ready for more risk and adventure. They were all set to bring Norma’s dream to life, the trio set out on their 15,000-mile adventure across the United States. And in the coming 4 months, they traveled over 5000 miles through 13 states.

Vagabond Norma

In the journey that followed she did everything, she might have refused to do before. She went to watch the famous NBA games to whaling ships in the Pacific Northwest. She went to ride a safari among the dangerous animals and even tried zip lining without hesitation.

Carefree

On this journey, she had made it a point that she would eat and drink whatever she wanted and visit a number of places and explore all the tiny but significant things that she would have ignored otherwise just like eating her favorite cake and getting her nails done.”She realized quickly that she loved key lime pie,” Liddle her daughter-in-law said on her vlog.

Inspiring People

They were once traveling in their RV and Ramie thought that there might be numerous people out there fighting just like Norma. Their life might be confined to their beds and chemotherapy clinics. So she thought of the ways through which she could inspire them with the story of their mother and give them hope of a bright future. But what could they do to materialize this idea?

Driving Ms. Norma

Ramie came up with the catchy title for their new blog and named it “Driving Ms. Norma” .With this, they wished to connect to the public out there in the world and share the experience to uplift the spirits of the people. Norma too was excited about this new venture and connecting with new people was like exploring the unknown cities alone.

New Experiences

Wherever she went people were nice to her and welcoming, some days she would have invitations to taste wine the other days, people would offer her ride on a horse. Her name would be written on the side of the boat. She happily shared all her experiences with her online friends through her vlog.

Christmas All The Way

With Christmas approaching, everyone got busy in its preparation. It had been a long time since Norma had made any puddings so Tim and Ramie suggested her to try on some new recipes this Christmas. She too, without a delay thought of all the dessert recipes that she could try. They also shared the pictures on facebook and her comment section was flooded with admiration and praise.

New Year New Start

Time seemed to fly and soon a new year was at their doorstep with new adventures and opportunities. The trio along with Ringo was constantly traveling to different places without a halt. Tim and Ramie tried their best to make Norma’s dream come true. Her journey wasn’t just a benchmark for the aged people but was inspiring them too to live their lives and explore the untrodden roads.

Birthday

In March, Norma turned 91 she was more than happy, full of life and excited about the new experiences that were coming in her way. Ramie had already posted about her birthday and soon she had started to receive numerous wishes and bouquets. This was her first birthday without her husband but regardless of the number of gifts, nothing could replace his wishes and warmth. However, the love that she was receiving had somehow filled the void.

 Florida Calling

After celebrating her birthday they resumed their journey and went on to explore some more. Florida became their next stop and fortunately, they had arrived at the best time of the year. Albuquerque city was hosting the international Balloon festival and the sky was filled with colorful balloons forming rainbows everywhere.

Wishlist

Norma saw the sight of those colorful balloons and wished she had been there with Leo. When Leo was still alive he had expressed his desire to ride in a hot balloon with Norma and while they were sorting some papers after his death they found numerous advertisements that he had collected buried under his important papers. She was sad but she didn’t have a clue about the surprise her son was planning for her.

The Return Journey

After a few days in Florida, it was time to bid the place goodbye. The people in the motel in which they were staying had instantly bonded with Norma and watching her leave seemed difficult for them. Especially the maintenance guy had become emotional when he heard about their departure date so he thought of giving her something special on her last day in Florida.

The Gift

He prepared a doll all by himself and gifted it to Norma on her last day in Florida. She was touched by his act and so overwhelmed to speak anything. But when Tim asked about the story behind his emotional act he said he saw his mother’s image in her who had passed away recently and he was always in guilt that he was not able to devote much time to her when she was alive.

Surprise

Soon another year was about to end and they had traveled miles in that span of time, approximately they traveled nearly 13,000 miles and slept in over 75 locations in 32 states. Inspired a lot of people and gave numerous interviews on T.V. But there were a lot of things that Norma still had to try but she didn’t see coming was a special surprise that her son had planned for her. What was that surprise?

Red Letter Day

Norma was gradually living her dream nomadic life, doing whatever she wanted to do. But there was one wish that was left unchecked from her checklist and that was to ride in a hot air balloon. So her son surprised her on her birthday and booked her tickets to the International Balloon Festival.

Excited

She had a mixed feeling of excitement as well as nervousness, but then there wasn’t much time to think. She just wanted to go for it regardless of the consequences. After Leo’s death, it seemed to her like a farfetched dream but when her son surprised her with the gift her happiness was beyond any explanation.

The Diary

Though Ramie was writing blogs and taking pictures where ever they went, Norma too maintained her diary. She used to write about all the pleasant things that had happened, the new people she had met or the food she had tried. But there wasn’t any page that described her sorrow. She just wanted to write about the happy moments of her life.

Journey Ends

Finally, the 14 months journey had come to an end and they were at their home. But a lot of things had changed in this period of time and the most important one was her relationship with her son. It had grown stronger and they had come closer than ever. And the unknown void seemed to evaporate.

The Debut Book

Ramie suggested compiling her journey into a book so they could share her journey and her experience around the world. And without wasting any time, Tim went to a publisher for the same. Soon they were able to share her experience through her book which had the same title as her blog “Driving Ms. Norma” and as expected it was very well received by the people and became a huge hit.

No Regrets

Life is very strange and we are unaware of the next moment, every plan seems to fail in front of the surprises that life gives. Everything was perfect but then Norma’s health started to deteriorate. The whole world was praying for her well being, but she knew her end was near. She had no regrets and no wishes left, she had fulfilled each one of it and was ready to embrace the next step.

Today we are letting go

She passed away on 30 September 2016. Her family informed her demise through her facebook page with famous lines of Rumi which said, “Life is a balance, between holding on and letting go.~ Rumi. Today we are letting go”.Though everyone was prepared, still it had hit them hard. She might have left this world but the inspiration she had given to people and love that she had received would remain immortal.