Hospital staff brings Christmas to woman with terminal cancer, her family

Cancer doesn’t take time off during the holidays.

That’s an unfortunate reality.

But Dibia Villalobos’ disease took a back seat this Christmas. Villalobos was at University Medical Center for her usual chemotherapy appointment when something unusual happened.

The nurses she relies on for treatment also treated her and her family to a Christmas on them, courtesy of UMC’s Christmas Project. Each year, the hospital chooses patients who’ve been struck with tragic life events and gives presents to them, their families, and their caregivers.

The generosity brought Villalobos to tears.

“Sometimes I want to cry,” said Villalobos. “But I try to be happy all the time. I try to smile all the time.”

With stage 4 cancer spreading through her lungs, bones and spine, it’s understandable if it’s hard for Villalobos to find reason to smile — especially since her husband is also ailing from diabetes and complications from a broken leg.

“He helps me a lot at home, even though his leg hurts him,” Villalobos told ABC-7.

But she does have five reasons to keep going: her children, ages 19,16, 14, 8, and 3.

“My three older children know I have cancer and I’m stage 4,” Villalobos said. “But they don’t know how big my cancer is, how strong it is.”

But she tries to be stronger.

“I say, I’m going to live forever, and only God knows when he’s going to take me. I’m still here,” Villalobos added.

Life — a true gift she and her family don’t take for granted.