Akhiel Willis and Kacey Morin’s Story

Who are you walking for?

Akhiel and Kacey are walking in memory of Cheryl, Akhiel’s mother.

Cheryl was the kind of person who filled a room. Akhiel describes her as fiery, kind, competitive, protective, and deeply devoted to family.

“She was very kind,” he says. “Very, very kind. Family-first type of person.”

Family mattered to Cheryl in a way that shaped Akhiel’s life. His parents divorced when he was young, but Cheryl always encouraged him to stay connected to both sides of his family. She made sure he showed up for people, especially around the holidays, and she taught him that family was something to keep close.

“She always encouraged me to be around family,” Akhiel says.

She was also someone who believed in him fiercely.

“She always believed in me more than I believed in myself,” he says.

What was Cheryl like?

Cheryl was loving and loyal, but she also had fire.

“She was fiery, to say the least,” Akhiel says.

She was competitive, especially when it came to sports, and Akhiel sees that same competitive side in himself. She was also someone he could talk to often.

“She was cool,” he says. “She was like a really good friend.”

Kacey saw that same spirit in Cheryl. Meeting her felt like a big step in her relationship with Akhiel, because she knew how much Cheryl meant to him.

“I knew it was like, if I got in with Cheryl, I was going to be okay,” Kacey says.

Once they met, the connection was immediate.

“We talked the whole time,” Kacey remembers.

Akhiel later joked that Kacey had a better first date with his mom than she had with him.

 

Why does Runway feel like the right place to honor her?

Cheryl would have loved Runway.

Kacey says Cheryl had a strong sense of style and loved dressing for the moment. On family vacations, she excelled at dressing up for their themed nights and themed days.

“Her outfits were always on point,” Kacey says.

That is part of why walking in a fashion show feels like such a fitting tribute.

“She would absolutely love the runway show,” Kacey says.

For Akhiel and Kacey, stepping onto the stage is a way to show Cheryl to the room: her style, her spirit, her joy, her family, and the love she poured into the people around her.

 

How did Cheryl’s diagnosis begin?

Cheryl’s diagnosis came after months of pain that did not feel normal.

Akhiel remembers that she had been complaining about her back. She was having trouble walking upstairs, walking downstairs, and doing physical activity. At first, she was given pain medication, but Akhiel felt strongly that something more was going on.

“I really pushed her to go get it checked,” he says.

Eventually, doctors found cancer in her spine. From there, everything moved quickly.

“There was no easing into it,” Akhiel says. “Everything happened very fast.”

Later, Akhiel learned that the cancer had also involved her lymph nodes. Looking back, he wonders if more could have been caught earlier, and whether Cheryl’s pain and symptoms were taken seriously enough from the beginning.

“It just felt like we didn’t have a lot of resources,” he says. “It was more of a guessing game.”

What was it like to become her advocate?

As Cheryl got weaker, Akhiel found himself trying to understand treatment, ask questions, research options, and advocate for his mother — all while trying to process what was happening emotionally.

“I was taking it all in and trying to understand what was going on,” he says.

He was not a doctor, but he felt like he had to learn as much as he could in real time.

“I’m researching all these things,” he says. “Trying to be a doctor when I’m not.”

Kacey saw how much fell onto Akhiel’s shoulders.

“You became your mom’s caretaker and the advocate,” she says. “She just wasn’t in a place to advocate for herself at the time.”

There were also difficult conversations around trust, treatment, and different opinions from family members. Some leaned toward natural or plant-based approaches. Others encouraged trusting the doctors. Akhiel was left trying to sort through it all while doing everything he could to help his mom.

“It was traumatic,” Kacey says.

 

What do you hope people understand from Cheryl’s story?

Cheryl’s story brings up hard but important questions about listening, advocacy, and equity in breast cancer care.

Akhiel remembers feeling like Cheryl’s care did not always come with a clear plan, and Kacey remembers wondering whether Cheryl was being taken as seriously as she should have been.

“It felt like they weren’t taking her seriously, or as seriously,” Kacey says.

For them, Cheryl’s story is a reminder that when someone says something is wrong, they need to be heard. Back pain, nausea, weakness, and changes in the body should not be brushed aside when they do not feel normal.

It is also a reminder of how much advocacy can fall on families, especially when someone is too sick to advocate for themselves.

 

How are you processing the grief now?

Akhiel is honest that he has not fully sat with the grief yet.

“I’ve truly not taken the time to sit down and grieve,” he says.

Life has been full, especially as he and Kacey prepare for their wedding. But grief does not always arrive on schedule. It comes in waves, in unexpected moments, and in different forms over time.

For Akhiel, walking Runway may be one of those moments — a space where Cheryl’s memory is not pushed aside, but brought forward.

Her photos will be behind them. Her name will be spoken. Her story will be part of the room.

 

What will it mean to walk together?

Akhiel and Kacey will walk as a pair, united in their love for Cheryl and in the life they are building together.

Kacey did not get as much time with Cheryl as she wishes she had, but the time she did have mattered. Cheryl loved her family, loved Kacey’s family, and made a lasting impression.

“She was an awesome lady,” Kacey says.

Now, as Akhiel and Kacey prepare to get married, walking in Cheryl’s memory carries even more meaning. Cheryl will not be physically present for their wedding or for the life moments ahead, but her presence remains woven into their story.

On the Runway stage, Akhiel and Kacey will carry Cheryl with them: her fire, her love, her style, and the belief she always had in her son.

We look forward to honoring Cheryl and celebrating Akhiel and Kacey as they walk in her memory this October.