When faced with a diagnosis of cancer, Norma Bauerschmidt, a 90-year-old woman from Michigan in the USA, decided to hit the open road with her son instead of undergoing months of painful chemotherapy.
You’re never too old to travel, not even at 90-years-old, and not even when you’ve been diagnosed with stage 4 uterine cancer.
That was the message Norma Bauerschmidt ended up leaving behind to thousands of people from all around the world after joining her son, daughter-in-law, and their dog, Ringo, on a year-long road trip across the USA in their motor home.
Source: www.npr.org
Faced with the option of undergoing treatment and a hysterectomy, or living out the final months of her life with her family and discovering the country she’d lived in her whole life in, Norma – a World War II veteran – chose the latter, ticking off countless experiences off her bucket-list.
“I’m 90 years old… I’m not interested in going through that. I’m hitting the road.”
Norma Bauerschmidt, speaking to PEOPLE.
Throughout her year-long road trip, she took a hot air balloon ride, went whale watching, rode a horse, and finally got to see the Grand Canyon. But in addition to all this, she also inspired the masses, with her Facebook page attracting over half a million likes on her 13,000 mile (20,900 kilometre) journey across 32 states of the USA.
Sadly, Norma died on 30 September this year at the ripe old age of 91. She learnt a whole lot throughout the road-trip, including learning how to live in the moment:
“Over these past 12 months, all of us have learned so much about living, caring, loving and embracing the present moment. No matter where we are, when asked where her favorite spot has been on this trip, Norma now says, ‘Right here!’ We have also learned so much about the human spirit and the beauty of people from all over the world.”
Taken from Norma’s Facebook page.
Yet despite Norma’s death nearly two months ago, her legacy continues to be a source of inspiration, with her Facebook page still attracting tens of thousands of likes from people all around the world.
“I used to say ‘No,’ to a lot of things… My knee jerk reaction to most things – no, no – but now I hold my tongue and I consider it, and I’m saying ‘Yes,’ to uncomfortable situations.”
Norma Bauerschmidt.
Norma’s legacy is a testament to the choices we can make as human beings. She wanted us all to know that you were never too old to follow your dreams. And of course, she chose travel, and that’s a choice most of us will always make.
