A short while ago, I shared Keri and Tony’s beautiful wedding with you all. Their wedding was such an amazing day, that I didn’t want to put a damper on their blog post by talking about how soon after the wedding, Keri was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. You never know what life will bring.
At the time, things looked pretty bleak. She was given a 15% chance of survival and the cancer had spread. When she went into surgery, we watched as her sister updated her Facebook page with the news that Keri might lose an arm, and that things were not going well.
The amazing thing is, that after Keri’s surgery, she began to improve.
Sometimes before her chemo, Tony or her parents would ask how she wanted to spend the day. If she felt up to it, she would tell them to drive her to Disneyland. If she was having a good day, she would go on Space Mountain.
The year before, they rode Space hundreds of times, but this year-her ride count was somewhere around 15. It was enough to keep her spirits up.
The amazing thing about Keri, is that she kept positive throughout the entire year. When her friends and family used the hashtag #keristrong, they weren’t kidding.
One day, a little while before her one year anniversary with Tony, Keri reached out to me and said she thought she was going to get a cancer free diagnosis, and was there anyway I could take a photo of her with a cancer free sign before or after one of my e-shoots at Disneyland? The Tomorrowland team really stepped forward, and let us take a few photos for a mini anniversary session at Space Mountain.
I can’t thank them enough (and Paul and Barbara) for their kindness. It gave Keri and Tony a brand new start to their lives, and was a wonderful way to begin their next married year together. I also want to extend a special thanks to the Space Mountain Crew, they threw in a little extra pixie dust for these two, and lets just say that Keri’s space mountain attraction count bumped up a few more numbers. 🙂
Congratulations, Keri! You are an inspiration to us all, and I’m honored to know you. Here’s to healthier, happier years ahead. Stay #keristrong.
I didn’t think you would be able to top the beautiful pictures you took of Keri and Tony at their wedding, but these pictures tell the story without words. She’s beautiful and cancer free. They couldn’t be any better!!
Thanks for telling their story!
I never knew that the survival percentage was so bleak, but I’m so glad to know that Keri beat the odds and will be riding her favorite attraction with her husband for many years to come! What a great story and great way to memorialize her triumph over adversity. Congratulations to them both and may they continue to live happily ever after! <3