Woman Makes A Final Request At Hospital That Changes Everything
Excitement is a rare commodity inside a hospice care center. In fact, they tend to be rather gloomy. However, when you walk into Spectrum Health’s Fuller hospice center campus, "gloomy" wouldn't be the first word to come to mind. You would’ve seen hallways strewn with flower petals, heard an angelic harp playing in the distance, and strangest of all, a woman with days to live wearing a wide, joyful smile...
Sobering Reality
Rhonda White didn’t need to see another doctor or another specialist: She understood what was going to happen to her. At just 50, she knew her time on earth was running out. It was just a question of when...
From Healthy To Hospice
At this point, Rhonda could barely move, let alone leave her hospital bed. The Rhonda from a mere three months before was active, fun-loving, and as far as she knew, completely healthy. So how did she end up in hospice care?
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Headache Led To Diagnosis
In September 2018, Rhonda awoke in the middle of the night with a severe headache and was rushed to the hospital. It was there that she learned about her brain tumor...and the additional lesions on her lung and liver.
Weeks To Live
Practically overnight, Rhonda’s unknown future was cut down to months, then weeks. Her daughter Jordan was just as blindsided by the bleak diagnosis as Rhonda. “It was one of the craziest days of my life,” she recalled.
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How Loved Ones Coped
Equally shaken up was Rhonda’s boyfriend, Brian Parkhouse. Having dated for three years, the couple was forced to face a future apart. With this in mind, Brian spent as much time as he could by Rhonda’s side...a decision that would ultimately change his life.
Slipping Away
See, Rhonda was in and out of consciousness for days at a time, but still, Brian sat with her and kept her company. As the hours passed and she didn’t wake up, it seemed more and more like she was slipping away…
Awoke With A Message
Until she opened her eyes. According to Jordan, Brian and some family members were with Rhonda when she suddenly woke up, looked over at her boyfriend, and said five words that left everyone in the room reeling.
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Loving Request
“Baby, will you marry me?” She asked Brian. As Jordan described, the moment Rhonda said those words was unforgettable. “Everyone in the room was excited,” she said. “We weren’t expecting that at all!”
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He Said Yes
Neither was Brian, who had been so accustomed to bad news that he was completely thrown for a loop — in the best way possible. The minute he accepted the proposal, everyone at the hospice scrambled to make the last-minute wedding a reality.
Sprung Into Action
The prospect of a wedding gave everyone from the nurses to the patients something to look forward to. For the first time in months, Rhonda and her family had something to anticipate besides medications and scans...but with Rhonda’s bleak prognosis, they had to hurry.
The Nurses Came Through
It was the nurses who pulled the entire event together. ”They got the cake for us, they brought a chaplain, a harpist, and a guitarist,” Jordan said. Thanks to the care and thoughtfulness of the nurses, the wedding looked and sounded like a traditional ceremony.
Rhonda's Bridal Look
But of all the amazing things the nurses did for Rhonda, what Rhonda and her family remembered the most fondly was their thoughtful attention to detail — specifically, with Rhonda’s wedding attire. They made sure she looked unforgettable on her big day...
A Vision In Purple
Keeping Rhonda’s favorite color, purple, in mind, the nurses found a beautiful bright purple wig for her to rock down the aisle. It matched her last-minute wedding dress — which was black with white and purple flowers — perfectly. There was only one thing left to do.
Friends And Family Gathered
To cue the music. With the harpist and guitarist strumming away, 40 of Rhonda’s closest friends and family gathered in the hospice’s family lounge to watch Rhonda marry the love of her life. But before she started down the aisle, her daughter pulled her aside.
Her Daughter's Decision
Her daughter Brieannah knew it was her mom’s special day, but she also knew the difficult truth: Rhonda would never see either of her daughters walk down the aisle themselves...unless Brieannah made a last-minute decision.
Double Wedding Surprise
Donning a lovely blue dress, Brieannah and her high school fiancé of eight years joined Rhonda and Brian as they walked (or rolled, in Rhonda’s case) down the aisle. Brieannah knew that foregoing tradition was the only way her mom would see her get married…
Making Their Vows Count
So much of the wedding bucked tradition that the guests, as well as the nurses and doctors who helped Rhonda through her big day, witnessed one of the most unique events of their lives — but all Rhonda could think about was saying “I do.”
Unforgettable Experience
“My mom was really impatient, she shoved the ring on her finger,” Jordan joked. So much of the wedding was unforgettable, according to Jordan. “It was probably one of the coolest services,” Jordan recalled. The double wedding made for some life-long memories...
Never Happier
...Memories that soon turned bittersweet: Two days later, Rhonda passed away. Brieannah will always be thankful for the memories her mom made at the wedding. “I’ve never seen her happier,” she said, though she knows “happy” is a controversial choice of words...
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The Family's Hope
Rhonda’s daughters “don’t want people to feel sorry” for them — Instead, they hope that their mother’s tenacity and perseverance inspires people to live like Rhonda: Out loud, with a bright purple wig to match.
Facing The End
When faced with the final days of her life, Rhonda chose to make them count, leaving her family with one final loving memory. But hearing the words of a fatal diagnosis hits everyone differently. When Norma Bauerschmidt's forced her to consider that scenario for real, her unusual response was something Rhonda understood all too well.
Meet Norma
While Norma heard those difficult words a bit later in life than Rhonda, it didn't make them any easier. While Norma, with her thick glasses, fluffy gray-white hair, and kind smile looked like any ordinary grandmother, she was also a bona fide hero with a real passion for life.
Happy Couple
Norma’s family always knew she was special. At 90 years old in 2016, she had walked to the beat of her own drum, usually with her husband by her side. In fact, the couple had defied expectations their entire lives.
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Ohio Origins
Norma hailed from Ohio, and it was clear early on that she craved adventure: Her nose was always buried in a book, and she went on imaginary adventures all over the world. And the older she got, the more she yearned for something beyond her quiet Midwestern life.
WWII Nurse
Her wish ended up coming true, just not in the way she'd hoped. When World War II arrived, she became a nurse with the U.S. Navy. It was exhausting but exciting work, and for the first time, she felt like she was doing something worthwhile.
Falling In Love
But after the war ended, Norma found herself back at home with an unknown future...until she met Leo. In 1948, Norma and Leo became Mr. and Mrs. Bauserschmidt and started their own lifelong adventure. Like all great adventures, however, their journey wasn’t easy.
Personal Struggles
Over the next 67 years, the couple struggled to keep their household afloat financially, and they were even forced to grieve the loss of their beloved daughter, Stacey, to cancer. Though they were happy together, the responsibilities of family life made any hope of adventure disappear.
Losing Leo
When Leo died in 2015, their plans for adventure seemed impossible. Norma’s best friend and partner for 67 years was gone, and she was left on her own. For the first time in decades, Norma’s future was once again open and unknown...until a mere two days later.
A Grim Diagnosis
Two days after Leo’s death, Norma found out she had stage 4 uterine cancer. The 90-year-old sat in the doctor’s office and listened to talk of treatment options, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy...all things that would terrify anyone. But Norma wasn’t just anyone.
No Treatment
Despite her bleak diagnosis, Norma denied treatment. She was inspired to live her life the way she always dreamed: on the move. She remembered her childhood dreams of traveling the country, and she knew it was her last chance to finally make these dreams come true.
Setting Out
Her son, Tim, and his wife, Ramie, sold their home and bought a 36-foot mobile care facility so they could bring Norma’s dreams to life. With their poodle, Ringo, in tow, the unique trio set out on their 15,000-mile adventure across the United States.
The Adventure Begins
Norma went from NBA games to whaling ships in the Pacific Northwest. She was face-to-face with wild animals and even went zip lining. She ate and drank whatever she desired, but despite her newfound fulfillment, there was still one unchecked box on her bucket list.
A Lifelong Promise
Norma had a very specific lifelong goal. She and Leo had promised each other to make this one-of-a-kind dream come true, so when Leo died, the hope went with it...until Tim and Ramie made a surprising discovery.
Hot Air Balloon
While they were packing Norma’s clothes and papers, they found a stack of advertisements for hot air balloon trips. Tim remembered his parents’ lifelong dream of riding in a hot air balloon, and he knew that now was the perfect time to make this dream a reality.
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Going Up
Just in time for Christmas, Tim and Ramie gave Norma the surprise of her life when they presented her with a ride in a hot air balloon. As they watched Norma’s gleeful reaction to the surprise, they came to a realization.
Sharing Her Journey
Together, Tim and Ramie knew that they couldn’t keep Norma’s unique story to themselves. They created a Facebook page called “Driving Miss Norma” to share Norma’s cross-country experiences with the world, and before long, it was a hit.
Media Sensation
Thousands of strangers became friends as Norma’s fame grew. Her childhood self would have never believed that she’d become an internet sensation featured on the Today show and the evening news! The world was inspired by her bravery in the face of terminal cancer.
Happy Thoughts
Norma wrote in her diary about each experience she had on the journey. She never mentioned cancer, pain, or fame; only the simple things she noticed on the trip that made her happy. When Tim found out, he knew what he had to do.
Published Author
Tim and Ramie transformed Norma’s diary into a book. They hoped that Driving Miss Norma would inspire people to chase after their own dreams, regardless of age or circumstance. Tim and Ramie planned on debuting the book with Norma by their side...
Journey's End
But on September 30, 2016, their journey with Norma came to an end when she quietly passed away. They had traveled over 13,000 miles, visited 32 states, and had a life-changing ride in a hot air balloon. Tim and Ramie had one more adventure in mind.
Public Service
They made Norma’s memorial service public so everyone, from family to fans, could celebrate her amazing life together. Instead of asking for donations or selling books, they asked all of the attendees to do one unusual task.
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Inspiring Many
“Take your grandmother out for lunch,” was all Tim and Ramie asked of their guests. They hope Driving Miss Norma inspires even the most ordinary of grandmothers to get in touch with their wild side. After all, if Norma can soar in a hot air balloon, so can you! She showed many that it's never too late.
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