12 years in a row woman, 83, who hugged every soldier for luck before they went off to war. But one day she didn’t come …

She made it her mission to hug as many soldiers as possible for luck before they went off to war.
But recently, Elizabeth Laird, 83, was hospitalized after her breast cancer spread to her bones.
Now, she is being repaid for her kindness — with the hundreds of thousands of servicemen she embraced before their deployment at Fort Hood, Texas, lining up to hug her in her hospital bed. 
Retired Army Staff Sgt Edmond Clark is among those to have turned up to Metroplex Hospital in Kileen to hug Mrs Laird, who began embracing soldiers after the outbreak of the Iraq War in 2003.

After entering her hospital room, he leaned down and said: 'You mind if I hug and kiss you?'
She replied softly, 'Please do', so he held out his arms and hugged her frail body,WFAA reports.
'I love you so much,' Sgt Clark tearfully told her. 'I just had to come and see you.'
Sgt Clark was deployed to war three times — and was hugged by Mrs Laird each time for luck.

He was also embraced upon his return by the elderly woman, who has hugged an estimated 500,000 departing and returning servicemen over the past 12 years, according to NBC.
Incredibly, for 11 of these years, Mrs Laird has been battling breast cancer.
However, her condition recently declined and she was admitted to intensive care. 

Although she has since been transferred out of ICU, she remains hospitalized — and is refusing to undertake chemotherapy and radiation treatments, instead choosing to pray for her recovery. 
'I’ve had breast cancer since 2005,' Mrs Laird, dubbed 'Fort Hood Hug Lady', told WFAA.
'It has metastasized to my bones and my lungs.'
Staff Sergeant Jarvez Wilkes recently visited Mrs Laird in hospital to support her in her own fight.
'It would be my honor to give her a hug in her time of need,' said the serving soldier. 'I made it my business to get down here and show her a little love because she's shown me plenty of love.' 
Inspirational: In the cases where soldiers did not return safely from war, Mrs Laird (pictured at her husband's grave) would reportedly hug their grief-stricken relatives and friends
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Inspirational: In the cases where soldiers did not return safely from war, Mrs Laird (pictured at her husband's grave) would reportedly hug their grief-stricken relatives and friends
Retired Army Captain Caren Adkins, who also turned up to hug the cancer-stricken woman, added: 'The hug lady was very inspirational in my first deployment to Afghanistan.
'She touched my heart.'
In the cases where soldiers did not return safely from war, Mrs Laird would reportedly hug their grief-stricken relatives and friends.
Tragically, Mrs Laird lost her husband and her daughter in the same week seven years ago.
However, she regularly sees her son, Richard Dewees, who has set up a GoFundMe account in a bid to encourage soldiers to visit his mother, and to raise money for her medical expenses.
In a post on the page, he writes of his mother: 'Elizabeth Laird is the IIICorps Hug Lady, she has met almost every deployment and redeployment flight from Fort Hood to the Sand Box since the war started in 2003. 
'She feels that her Family in Camo needs to know that some one here at home is interested and waiting for them to come home again.
'It's estimated that over the span of 12 years she has hugged close to 500,000 troops. 
'Elizabeth knows that her Lord has given her this mission, to give smiles, hugs and love to all of her troops. 
'Since 2005 she has been battling breast cancer, after 10 years she has come to the point that the cancer is wearing her down.
'She has been in the hospital for 5 days and she has been told that she can't live alone any longer and she will need to go into a assisted care facility.'
Mr Dewees said the recent hospital visits and hugs by soldiers had made his mother smile.
'The outpouring of people, the comments coming in, it's amazing,' he said. 
Mrs Laird turns 84 in January. 

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