A Tennessee woman is sharing the one thing her late mother asked her to do while she was in hospice.
Kristi Johnson, 50, opened up in a TikTok video and to "Good Morning America" that her mom Rebecca Creager Deatherage asked her to have the knee surgery she been putting off so she could take care of her before she died.
Johnson's video of her mom's story has since gone viral, with over 10 million views since Jan. 13.
"She finally said, 'Kristi, if you do not get your knee fixed, I'm going to miss taking care of you. … I want to be there for you for your knee surgery and if you don't go ahead and do it, then I'm going to run out of time,'" Johnson recounted.
After multiple requests, Johnson said she eventually went ahead and underwent surgery to address a torn meniscus. Despite having throat and neck cancer and being in pain herself, Johnson said her mom kept her promise and came to take care of her while she recovered, sleeping next to her chair and cooking and cleaning her house.
"We always said in trauma or drama going on the family, you always wanted her there. She was the queen and she could handle it all. And that's what she did this one last time," said Johnson.
Johnson said she took photos of her mom while she stayed with her at the time because she was scared it would be one of the last times she would spend time with her mom and it turned out to be the case.
"When she was at my house caring for me, I think I was just in awe of her," she recalled. "I've always been in awe of her strength and her dignity and she had a lot of love. And I think you just look at that and go, 'Gosh, how is she so strong?'"
Deatherage died in July 2021 at the age of 70, after 12 months in hospice and a few months after Johnson had her surgery. Johnson said she and her family hosted a party for their late mother, who requested one instead of a funeral.
"My mom was just a happy person that just was fun to be around. And I think that's what we miss a lot, miss the most, is just her stories and her character," Johnson remembered. "She entertained us a lot. She was fun."
Johnson said they decorated a venue with her mother's pictures and the art she created and she cooked her mother's favorite dishes and signature recipes to serve at her celebration of her life.
Johnson says she wants others to see the beauty in motherhood and she feels grateful to share her late mom's story with others.
"She let us know that we were loved, and she felt loved. And that's really what it's all about, in the end, is family and a legacy of of kindness and giving to others," Johnson said.
