Weston and Haley Odlozil.Photo:Taylor Odlozil TikTok
Taylor Odlozil TikTok
WhenTaylor Odlozilfirst joined TikTok, he was simply looking for an escape.
It wasn’t until months later, after finding out that his wifeHaley, 30, was “running out of options” to treat her Stage IIICovarian cancerthat he started to share his family’s story.
“I’m the video guy in the family. I’ve always enjoyed expressing my emotions and sharing the way I think about things through video,” Taylor tells PEOPLE.
“In October, we found out that we were running out of options and were going to have to let everything happen naturally. Over the next few weeks, I made a video showing memories of things we’ve done together and posted it on Thanksgiving Day.”
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The couple’s beautiful story went viral quickly. High school sweethearts since 2008, Taylor and Haley received news of her diagnosis in late 2015, just weeks beforetheir wedding. Four years later, they’d welcome son Weston via surrogate.
“I had maybe 50 followers before I posted on Thanksgiving Day, and within a couple of hours, it went absolutely viral and people started following like crazy. So I started posting more, and it snowballed into what it is today,” he says.
Today, millions check in to see the family’s latest memories made together, each of which begins with the day’s date and Taylor’s assurance that “Haley is still fighting.”
“I kind of knew that they were working on it because they needed to coordinate with me, but Haley had no idea. They set up a time to come and record her heartbeat without her noticing and I knew what they had in the works,” he says.
“But I did not know they would end up giving me a printed version of her heartbeat. That really broke me — I started bawling when they gave me that.”
The sentimental gift came after a veryemotional conversation between mother and sonafter Weston asked why she was going to heaven. The couple’s 4-year-old, Taylor says, is “definitely starting to realize something is happening.”
Weston has come to love the teddy bear, which Haley says he calls his “mommy bear.”
“He goes, ‘Alright, I need my mommy bear,’ before he goes to sleep,'” she shares. “And it’s just comforting to me to know that he has something that’s from me for when he misses me.”
“Our thing that I say to him and the best way I knew how to guide him through everything, I always say, ‘When you can’t see Mommy or feel Mommy, where am I?’ And he says ‘In my heart?’ I say, ‘Yes, I’m in your heart.’ And so the fact that it came full circle with what they did, that was amazing to me.““He loves that bear,” Taylor adds. “He has to have it every night and he plays the recording.”
While the couple has prepared for how they’ll guide Weston through their journey, Haley notes it also “naturally fits into how we parent.”
“Weston asks us questions that throw us for a loop all the time. He’s always asked us hard questions and pointed out things he’s observed,” Haley says. “We have to be very intentional about how we explain things because things make such an impression on him. But at the same time, we do parent that way.”
Today, the couple has the support of their inner circle, plus the millions following their story online, something that has made an impression on Haley as well.
“It’s obviously not easy living and having your private moments documented. There’s no rulebook to dying and having that being filmed. It’s been very hard for me to — I don’t know how to live and die at the same time,” she says.
“Being very intentional and transparent with people is all I’ve ever really known to do with this disease.”
Haley is also grateful her story is bringing more awareness to what ovarian cancer can do and how it can impact young women.
Haley has heard from many young women who have become more proactive in their health as a result of seeing her experience, with some even discovering health problems of their own.
“Taylor has always said to me, ‘I’m not gonna let your pain and your suffering be for nothing.’ And so he’s created this platform for us that we’ve been able to share awareness and make a difference,” she continues.
“If I can have a bad day and if I’m going through what I’m going through regardless, I might as well let him video it and show it and create an impact and make a difference. If I could help someone or convince someone to go to the doctor, that was all worth it for us.”
Over time, Taylor has also learned to accept the support of the community around them.
“We’ve been fighting this for a long time, seven and a half, eight years. I have an amazing support system here and in my friends and my family, my parents, Haley’s parents. Whatever we need, they’re there,” he says.
Taylor continues, “Then I started documenting this journey, and I never dreamed it would turn into what it’s turned into. The amount of people that have messaged me, emailed me, commented the most supportive things. I just never dreamed that we would reach this many people, and we’re so grateful for that.”
Not only do these videos help build community and support while raising awareness, but they will also serve as a time capsule for Weston as he gets older.
“All the things that we get to do, he’ll see we got to live life together while I was here and that it wasn’t my choice to leave. I hope he just remembers all the love and all the experiences we shared.”
Taylor also hopes that Weston will one day learn from the hard moments they’ve captured as well.
If there’s one takeaway from her videos and her story that Haley hopes followers walk away with, it’s, “Do not take your life for granted.”
“Always have perspective. Everything in life is about perspective. And whether you’re sitting in traffic, whether it’s raining, there’s something good in every day,” she continues. “Instead of being mad it’s raining, roll down your windows, smell the freshly rained-on grass. There’s something good in every day.”
“Always be thankful for where there are good things. Don’t focus on the bad things,” she concludes.
The couple shares immense gratitude for all those who have followed along and support the family as Haley’s last days continue to unfold. They’re also making sure that time is filled with more beautiful memories — from afamily vacationto making a mold ofHaley and Weston holding handsso that he always has her hand to hold.
“I’m going to continue to post every moment with Haley, and after Haley has left us, I’m going to try to help people who have grief,” says Taylor.
“I will post about Weston and my journey getting through this grief, trying to navigate this life as a single dad.”
source: people.com
