The Rock
The Rock cares about his fans
Not ready for a wrap, not at 84
DON HUDSON
MOORESVILLE - It takes a certain chutzpah to ask for two dying wishes. But if there is anything Nina Lytle didn't get cheated on, it's brass.
Last December, the 84-year-old had a 4 1/2-pound tumor taken off her liver at the University of North Carolina hospital in Chapel Hill. Going into surgery, she told Dr. Hong Jin Kim she was determined to live long enough to see her great-grandbaby born.
"That was my goal," she said. "I wanted to see her born."
It's a hot July morning. Lytle is sitting on the front porch of her house on Water Street, holding her 6-month-old great-granddaughter, Josie.
And she's thinking about her next wish.
She's a big fan of wrestling superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He's coming to Charlotte Tuesday to tape "Smackdown."
Thanks to Jeff Corbett of the Hospice of Iredell County, Lytle will meet The Rock Tuesday.
"He's a nice guy," she said. "And he is as good-looking as the devil."
Lytle had a bedspread with The Rock on it in her hospital room, and woke up to a picture of The Rock on her wall. When The Rock's movie, "The Scorpion King," came out, Debbie Torrence took her mother down to the AmStar Cinemas to watch it.
With only months to live, Lytle's conversation is still biting, funny and honest. That's one reason Corbett wanted to help her meet The Rock. The other reason is hospice works for all patients.
"So many people think hospice is about death and dying," Corbett said. "It is about helping people live what time they have left. For any patient, whether it is something big like this, or something small, we want them to live fully.
"This lady, in her final moments, she will still be glowing over this. It will help fulfill her life."
Corbett became involved in hospice when his wife died of breast cancer in 1995. "That was a wake-up call," he said. "So many people assume they have this endless supply of days. They don't really live.
"When people come into the world, there is so much celebration. We think death should be part of life, too. Don't fear it, but live to your fullest."
Torrence is struggling. She's an only child. Her dad died of cancer in 1973. She took a leave from her job as a cashier at Food Lion to be with her mother. She tears up sitting in her mom's room.
"You always hear about someone getting killed instantly," she said. "that it the hardest. To me it is harder watching my mama die daily."
Lytle isn't afraid of dying.
"I've had the full benefit of 84 years," she said.
You can tell by the way she holds Josie she's not ready to go yet. She's got a date with the Rock. But not even meeting your hero can compare to holding your great-grandbaby on a hot July morning.
Don Hudson