During our last family reunion, my cousin told me something that I haven’t forgotten. He said if you want to stay healthy and spry, keep young people around you. Children have a way of making you remember life’s simple pleasures. They remind us to step away from our adult responsibilities and have fun some times.
Not to mention, kids imbue our lives with a sense of purpose. When he said it, I was thinking about young children. But one family found that the same is true for adult children. A mom of four was put in hospice care, but thanks to her son, she did everything she could to get out.
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Olivia Armao, a mother of four, has been getting treatments for breast cancer since the early 2000s when she was first diagnosed, People reports. She eventually went into remission. After having three sons, she gave birth to her only daughter Liv, in 2005. Sadly, in May 2021, the cancer returned.
She underwent chemotherapy and a single mastectomy but by October 2022, doctors told her that the cancer had metastasized. “It has not been easy to watch her go through her diagnosis and treatment,” her daughter Liv told People. “She has been fighting for so long.”
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In October 2024, Olivia entered hospice care. This came only two weeks before her son Salvatore’s wedding. But before her condition progressed to this point, when she was still in the hospital, all she could talk about were her son’s upcoming nuptials. Salvatore and his fiancée Kelsey, were so hellbent on Olivia being there that they considered holding the ceremony in her hospital room. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that.
On November 2, Olivia surprised her family and friends when she arrived at the Basilica Hudson with 105 other guests to witness her son walk down the aisle. “She had missed the welcome dinner the night before because she wasn’t feeling well,” Liv says. “Then she woke up in a much better mood, ready to take on the day. I think we knew my mom was going to make it there, but there was a lot of unease until the actual wedding day.”
Throughout the emotional celebration, Liv and her brothers watched their mom dance, laugh, cry, and have the best day. It all culminated in the mother/son dance at the reception.
“She was thanking God that she made it because she wasn’t sure she was going to, and mainly she was beyond happy and excited to be there to witness her son get married,” Liv says. “On the dance floor she was so emotional, and it was very difficult for her not to cry because she didn’t want her son to cry as well.”
The family members weren’t the only ones fighting back tears. Liv shared footage of their dance on TikTok. Hundreds of thousands watched the video of Liv, her other brothers, the bride, and other family members came to join Olivia and Salvatore on the dance floor.
It struck a chord with thousands of people.
“This is so beautiful,” one TikTok user wrote. “Talk about being covered in love. what a wonderful memory to hold, now and forever.”
Another remarked on how easy it was to cry over people they don’t even know. “Do I know these people..no am I balling my eyes out yes.”
Another person wrote about the strength of the human spirit, especially in cancer survivors.
“I work in a cancer office,” another user shared. “I’ve never in my entire 41 years have seen so much fight than I do with cancer patient. Your mom deserves all of the good things and I’m glad she got to spend it with all of you. And thanks for sharing. It’s a reminder to keep fighting.”
