Driving Miss Norma: 90-Year-Old Widow Chooses ‘Trip Of A Lifetime’ Over Cancer Treatment
Ninety-year-old Norma is making a huge statement in the wake of her cancer diagnoses. Rather than seek cancer treatment after doctors discovered she had uterine cancer, Norma decided to take off on the trip of a lifetime with her son and daughter-in-law.
Norma, a 90-year-old grandmother from Michigan, learned she had cancer just two days after the death of her husband of 67 years. She was given the normal options for cancer treatment: surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Norma rejected cancer treatment and opted for some therapy of her own. Rather than spending what could be the rest of her life fighting cancer, she decided to go on the trip of a lifetime with her family and see everything that she never got a chance to see.
“Having some blood detected in her urine during a routine exam, she was sent for an ultrasound, then another,” reads the Driving Miss Norma Facebook page. “The day after Leo was admitted to Hospice we learned that she had a large, likely cancerous mass on her uterus. Two days after Leo died we found ourselves sitting in an OB/GYN office talking about treatment options.”
“She’s very quiet and humble, and then she has this streak of adventure that surprises us,” her daughter-in-law Ramie told ABC News. Ramie and Norma’s son Tim are full-time RVers and spend their time traveling around the United States. After Norma’s cancer diagnosis, they invited her to join them.
The group of three and their pet poodle left Northern Michigan in August and have been adventuring ever since. They stopped at Mt. Rushmore in North Dakota first and have since driven by RV to Yellowstone National Park and over the Rocky Mountains. The whole trip has been documented on Facebook on the “Driving Miss Norma” page.
According to Norma, her favorite part of the trip so far was a hot air balloon ride in Florida around Christmas, a gift from Ramie and Tim. She was also seen tooling around Disney World and has already seen the Grand Canyon.
The epic cross-country road trip seems to be doing the 90-year-old Norma a lot of good.
“She continues to surprise us on this trip,” Ramie told ABC News. “She’s getting healthier, I think, from eating well and being outside a lot. She’s breathing fresh air and getting to see new things all the time.”
The whole trip has been documented on the “Driving Miss Norma” facebook page and has already racked up more than 65,000 followers. The idea behind documenting Norma’s trip is not only for memories. Ramie and Tim are hoping to start some discussions about end-of-life and options that seniors have regarding care and treatment or their decision to refuse cancer treatment and other invasive procedures in the wake of a life-threatening or terminal diagnosis.
“Everyone has different ideas about how they want the end of their life to work,” Ramie said. “As a planet, we need to have this conversation.”
Right now, Tim, Ramie, Norma, and their dog Ringo are still enjoying all that Florida has to offer. As far as their next destination, even they don’t know. It’s up to Norma to decide where they will adventure next. How’s that for cancer treatment?
The story of “Driving Miss Norma” has become a hit, and now the 90-year-old grandma is famous for her very brave decision to ignore typical cancer treatment and opt for the clean air and amazing sights she is getting to experience while traveling the United States by RV. It looks like Norma is making some amazing trips that many will remember for many years.
[Image via Facebook]
