When you know you’re dying, you’ll take any opportunity you can get to spend those final days, weeks, or months with the people you love most.
Oklahoma truck driver Delvin Simmons has been on the road for forty years, but a recent diagnosis has him hanging up his driving hat for good. Delvin recently had his first-ever colonoscopy, and unfortunately, the results revealed stage four colon cancer. As Delvin prepares to go into hospice care, he decided to take one last long drive with his son, Justin, in the passenger seat next to him.
Facebook
As soon as Justin switches on the video camera, you can feel the warmth and kindness of Delvin’s personality coming through the screen. He’s clearly an amiable fellow who’s quick with a joke, even when facing one of the scariest times in his life.
Justin and Delvin shared a lot of laughs, tears, memories, and songs as they rumbled across Kansas in dad’s favorite orange rig. Justin kept his friends and family updated on Facebook:
This is the day my Dad had me come over so he could tell me he found out he has colon cancer that is severely advanced. This day was a complete shock to me and emotions were high.
Dad has been without anything to eat for over a month. Bone broth once in a while. Betty said he was too weak to go for a drive in his semi by himself, and he was. So while I was there, he asked me to go with him on his “LAST RIDEâ€!
Facebook
Delvin told Justin he wanted nothing more than to sing his son a song, so he’d have something to remember him by. Proving his sense of sardonic humor was still in tact, Delvin turned on the music and began to sing along with an old gospel classic called “The Old Man Is Dead.”
The man you see before you
May look a lot the same
I may wear the same clothes
And have the same old name
But you’re looking on the outside
If you could see inside instead
You would see a brand new man
‘Cause the old man is dead
Facebook
Delvin is a deeply religious man who works tirelessly to serve his church and his community. A humble ranch hand, he went into truck driving to support his family when Justin was very young. On the road, Delvin’s trucker handle was “Ranch Hand” for more than forty years.
Delvin told Justin he’d chosen this gospel song because it had gotten him through some tough times in life, and he wants it to be available for his kids, after he’s gone.
His family released the song video him singing to raise awareness for colon cancer, urging everyone who sees it to get screened today, before it’s too late.
Facebook
When Delvin heard that the video of his song had gone viral, he was filled with joy and gratitude. “If I had had a colonoscopy 5 years ago, this may have all been different. I have sat in this hospital and I have cried. Not for sadness but because I am overwhelmed at what God is doing with that song,” he told Justin.
For Justin, having that one last ride with his father meant more to him than anything else ever could. “I got to capture some of my life’s most precious memory moments and I’m so glad we went on his last ride!!!”
Facebook
At the end of one of Delvin’s video clips, he looks into the camera and says simply, “Hang in there, it’ll all work out.” Hold on to that message — it’s something we all need to hear once in a while.
Watch Delvin’s emotional goodbye in the video below, and be sure to share to spread his message even further.
Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.