WATCH: Mary's Bucket List

SAN ANGELO, TX -- On what she called her fourth and final attempt to ride in a hot air balloon Mary Sandoval finally checked an item off her bucket list on Saturday morning.

If by chance you saw a blue hot air balloon floating in the sky last Saturday morning on the southwest side of San Angelo it was 73-year-old Mary Sandoval and the Texas Racer 2 hot air balloon piloted by Joe Heartsill.

What made this ride one to remember for Mary is her diagnosis of Multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells. The cancer is known to accumulate in the bone marrow and crowd out healthy blood cells. Rather than produce helpful antibodies, the cancer cells produce abnormal proteins that can cause complications. 

Despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer Mary has also managed to overcome COVID-19 in hopes of keeping the ride of her life intact. 

It's always been a dream of Marys to ride in a hot air balloon. For the last few years, she's been making trips to Kerrville and the Hill Country in hopes of flying high but has been unsuccessful. 

Here recently Del Velasquez along with Mary’s nephew Fernando Fuentez owner of Lily's Pizza and the popular downtown establishment The Chadbourne Tavern arranged for Ms. Sandoval to check off the bucket list item of riding in a hot air balloon. 

WATCH Mary's ride from beginning to end as she describes what it meant to finally board and take a ride in a hot air balloon along with the emotion of seeing her loved ones welcome her as she touched down from an unforgettable hot air balloon ride.