Family holds Christmas early for dad with terminal cancer

FRISCO, Texas - A Frisco husband and father received the kind of diagnosis nobody wants to hear. He has cancer, and it's terminal.

Worried he may not be around until Christmas, his family decided to have it early. They even took it a step further and issued an online challenge. It’s been one that was met by supporters all around the globe.

For the Odum family, Christmas this year can't come soon enough.

Becky’s husband, David, started having severe digestive problems in April.

“Something simply wasn’t right,” he said.

A CT scan and biopsy revealed the 47-year-old husband and father of four had cancer of the appendix. The tumors had spread, and doctors told David he had just months to live.

“There’s a short time left,” he said. “We’re not waiting a moment.”

“He's my best friend, and I don’t want to let him go,” Becky said. “When we were talking about what he would like to do before he passes, he said he'd like to have one more holiday with his kids.”

So Becky got out the Christmas decorations and took to Facebook to share David's diagnosis and asked for family and friends to hang up their Christmas wreaths early and to post pictures to share online. The response was overwhelming.

Steve Kair is just one of nearly 200 people who have answered Becky's online challenge.

“It was let’s get upstairs, dig out the wreaths and we'll it on the door and take some pictures and join in on the posts,” he said. “Heck. If I didn’t have a two-story house, I'd put the lights up.”

Pictures continue to pour in from around the world. One came from as far as Australia.

“This has been absolutely fabulous because it's brought everyone together in ways we could never have envisioned,” David said.

The Odums plan to celebrate Christmas on September 6 on David's 48th birthday. The outpouring of support, he says, is the best gift he could as for.

“If God graces us with Christmas in December, then we'll have had two Christmases,” David said. “We’re just not willing to take that risk.”

Becky says she lost her first husband to cancer. She says her faith in God and the online response is helping the family get through this difficult time.