Two weeks before the six-month lifespan doctors gave Barbara Dorris was up, the Nashville, Tennessee, mother of three hosted a “FUN-eral” at a local park to celebrate her life and courage.
“I went into the hospital because I had pain,” Dorris told WSMV. “I’d been coughing. I’d torn my diaphragm. I had seen these seven Vanderbilt angels standing over me, and they said, ‘Ma’am, were you aware you have a four-inch tumor under your right rib cage?’ I said, ‘No.’”
Dorris was diagnosed with an undisclosed, inoperable cancer and told she had six months to live, the news outlet reported.
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“As I came home from the hospital, and as I was lying there, I was like, ‘What now?’ I started to laugh,” she told WSMV. “I thought, ‘I’ll throw a party in six months, and I’ll invite everybody now, and I’ll either be there or I won’t.’ It’s a FUN-eral!”
On April 1, high school friends, college sorority sisters and old flames made their way to Centennial Park for Dorris, who has enjoyed a career as a publicist, singer/songwriter and improv comedian, WSMV.com reported. They posed for pictures and reminisced about old memories.
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“I knew that people would want to see me if they could, so I thought I should plan an event where I get to give everyone a hug in the event things do go south,” Dorris told WSMV.com. “I don’t feel alone in this, not for a second. I never felt more cared for or protected or watched over. I’m just grateful to be alive.”
Local bars where Dorris used to play have hosted fundraisers in her honor, and friends are collecting donations to help the family cover medical costs.
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