Wendy DamonteChannel 2 News
The Pearson family was established 2006 when Keith and Amy sealed their love with a Genoa wedding. Their song, 'You Are My Sunshine,' was how they saw each other.
By 2009 the family had grown by 2. Payton and Preston were the light of their dad's life. "All he ever wanted to be was a dad. I mean really that was his goal. I mean really all he wanted was to get married have a good life and have kids," says Amy.
And what a dad he was... for just four short years. Three months before Preston was born in 2009, doctors told Keith he had stage four esophageal cancer. "We were told on August 12th that he had 1 to 2 years to live. We totally weren't prepared to hear that. He just sat there and cried. I was pregnant and he just said my kids."
For 21 months he battled. But for 21 long hard months, the cancer battled back. And spread. "In the end what he passed away from was the lung cancer. He had so many rounds of really aggressive chemotherapy and the cancer just went around it. It morphed into something that was not treatable."
Keith came home to Carson City to die. His family and friends from all over the country were able to say goodbye. On April 28th, 2011 Keith took his final breath. He was 34 years old. But what didn't die was the love between Amy and Keith. She still wears her wedding ring and Keith sends his love from heaven. "It was 11 o'clock and I was getting really sad because I heard the bells tolling and I thought this was the last hour Keith was alive last year and I was starting to get really sad and then all of a sudden the bells started playing you are my sunshine and I was like babe, he's still with me."
For more information about esophageal cancer, go to www.ecan.org
To follow Amy's blog go to http://www.arestyledlife.blogspot.com/
