Two days after watching her husband die in hospice care, 90-year-old Norma, from Michigan in the United States, was diagnosed with uterine cancer.
Her best options included surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
Exhausted by the week’s ordeal, Norma made the difficult decision to forgo treatment and instead spend the rest of her life pursuing one of her great loves.
“I’m 90-years-old, I’m hitting the road,” she told her doctor.
Norma has spent just over six months living in a motor home with her son Tim, and daughter-in-law Ramie, touring some of the most famous sites in the US.
She has visited Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, travelled to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, braved aliens in Roswell, New Mexico, and boogied down in New Orleans.
In January, she fulfilled one of her dreams by taking a hot air balloon ride in Florida.
Since embarking on the trip, a Facebook page originally set up to allow friends and family to track Norma’s road trip across the country, has attracted more than 145,000 followers.
Hundreds of messages of support from people young and old, and all over the world, flood the page every day.
“You are an inspiration and a reminder to others there are other options and quality of life to consider,” wrote Wanda Manning.
“You’re famous all around the world now. Let me know when you’re coming to Europe,” Sabine Mahler wrote.
Ramie said the family was “completely overwhelmed”.