Dearest Team,

You may have noticed that, lately, I have fallen silent on our social media pages. After many days of carefully crafting the right words to say, and erasing them only to start fresh, I believe that we have met the appropriate time to provide our TEAM with an update.

Over the recent months, our MVP has stood tall and strong against even the darkest of storms. With almost nine weeks of hospitalizations in total, the attentive care from our oncology team, and a lot of challenging conversations.. our MVP had made the decision that her body, mind, and spirit deserved a restful break from all Anti-Cancer medical interventions.

During this time, we have surrounded momma with an abundance of love, familial support, celebrations of her recent birthday, movie nights, yummy snacks, lots of laughter and even some good cries.

It is with great trepidation, that I provide this most current update, as our MVP has remained resilient with the warmest of smiles across her face. Over the progression of the past ten days, our MVP has approached one of her final “buzzing flights” of this season. As our bravest and strongest MVP has approached her next “bracket” of her “tournament”, I leave each of our “teammates” with this;

Some journeys change us forever.

Walking alongside our Mom through her past 21 months of “striking out” this treacherous disease has been one of those journeys — full of courage that didn’t waver, humor that defied the heaviness, and love that bloomed even in the hardest soil.

The symbol of hope in our family and support circle (“Team”) has always been the honeybee — small but mighty, tireless in her purpose, and always leaving sweetness in the most beautiful places. Much like a honeybee, she has worked quietly and fiercely to build something everlasting: a life overflowing with love, connection, and joy.

Now, as she begins her final flight toward her ever so sweet championship, we are gathering close. We are soaking up the “buzz” of her presence, the warmth of her smile, and the quiet wisdom she still gives without words.

Your messages, prayers, and kindness have built and cultivated our hive — keeping us sheltered, fed, and strong. We may not respond quickly in these days ahead, but we feel your love in every beat of our hearts.

We are simply sitting with her in this bittersweet season, wrapping her in every ounce of warmth and gratitude that we have, and letting her rest in the garden she’s so carefully and beautifully tended.

“Like a honeybee, she may be small, but her work will echo in the blooms for generations.”

We ask that in this time of transitioning, you lift our MVP, family, and our community in prayers of peace, comfort, and grace. As we treasure these final moments together, please know that once her final “buzzing flight” here is complete, we will let you — our friends and family from near and far — know the details and arrangements for the bright & colorful bittersweet celebration of her beautiful life, once they are finalized.

We ask that you help us maintain consistency, in efforts to avoid any sharing of misinformation, by refraining from paraphrasing any personal updates in your own words, and instead join us in sharing this post for your friends and family to read.

Lastly, from the very deepest depths of our hearts, our family would like to extend our most profound “Thank you” for being our greatest, most supportive and loving teammates, and most of all for “buzzing” right along beside our MVP through each chapter our this journey.

As our family navigates these next steps together, we ask for our teammates to rally together in support of our parents, but most significantly for our father, as he carefully curates the details of our mother’s final wishes for the most colorful and beautiful celebration of her life. We ask that, no matter the amount, our “Team” collectively supports the Yancey household through gifts of donation to alleviate any financial burdens presented in the coming days, allowing our focus to be set solely in togetherness.

Words will never speak the great volume of gratitude and love in our hearts for each and every teammate beside us.

with an abundance of love,

Our MVP and family;

Phil, Dylan, Erika, & Dustin

#UpToBatForDeb