The love behind the mission

A beautiful flower.
A lasting legacy.

A child once asked his mother, “Why does God always take the best people from us?” The mother answered, “When you’re in the garden, which flowers do you pick first?” The child said, “The most beautiful ones.”

What made Gwen a beautiful flower

Gwen was selfless. She would do anything for her family. She didn’t have an ego. She rooted for everyone and wanted people to succeed. She did not judge, and she hated seeing people judged for being different. In fact, Gwen often preferred the people who were a little different, and she didn’t believe normal was a thing. She treated the bellboy the same as a CEO.

She didn’t need extravagant things. Gwen loved the simple things in life and counted her blessings. She loved nature, loved animals, and really loved dogs. She would have rescued every dog in the world if she could have. Most of all, Gwen loved her family. She knew how to love the people she loved. She went all in.

The fight

Gwen fought cancer on and off for almost two years. The first time, she went through chemo, a partial mastectomy, and radiation. At the end of that long course she rang the bell and was told she was cancer free. Six months later she was diagnosed with a recurrence, and it came back with a vengeance. It was in her bones and organs. The family was told it was terminal, but not how long she had. The first question her husband asked the doctor was, “Can she travel?” The doctor said yes.

She started chemo again, hoping to extend her life for her husband and kids. Unfortunately, the chemo made her worse. It is processed through the liver, and the cancer was in her liver.

Cancer eats away at you slowly, physically and mentally. You watch things in your life slip away, and you miss the things you loved doing together. First it was the active things, like walks on the beach, hiking, or walking the dogs. Then it was the little things, like going for a car ride. Then she was sleeping most of the time, so there wasn’t much conversation left. They never got to travel again.

The beautiful part of a sad story

We are going to help families going through the same thing. We help them travel and make memories together while they can, and we help with the challenges of daily life that cancer brings, so the time a family has can be spent on each other. For those who cannot physically travel, we can bring virtual travel and other experiences to them. Our mission is to support families affected by cancer in daily life and in the moments that matter most.

“DO NOT stop dreaming big. Spend lots of time with family. BE happy no matter what. Be silly. Laugh often. Take in lots of adventure. Travel and see the world. Don’t put any conditions on what it takes to be happy with your loved ones. Just enjoy the time, no matter what you are doing.”Gwen’s instructions to her family