On April 27, 2001, at 5:50 am, cancer crashed into the near-perfect world of Ivan and Verna Acker. The doctor said the word "cancer" and nothing would ever be the same. It had always been a word for other people. Now it was a word for them. The diagnosis was advanced Stage IV non-small cell adenocarcinoma, lung cancer with brain metastasis. The prognosis was poor - six to eight months was the expectation. The Ackers fought the cancer together. They loved and laughed. They cried and they prayed. Now "perfect" had a new meaning.
At 76 years old, Ivan was the healthy and happy. As patriarch...