|
***OUR HERO, OUR SON, OUR BUBBA... WESLEY*** 
Wesley(Bubba) hanging out with Amber (Sissy) at Ronald McDonald House.
***Celebrate all of Wesley's Special Birthdays***
1st~September 29, 1986 his birth
2nd~The day he was saved
3rd~June 9, 2005 of course Transplant Day when he was given a second chance at life.
August 28,2005 Wesley earned his angel wings and now is home with his heavenly Father.
Join us on Wesley's Journey. We created this page to keep supporters, family and friends updated on his journey.
Wesley is an eighteen year old boy who truly loves life and lives it to the fullest. Wesley believes very strongly and powerfully in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is in the eleventh grade and plays trumpet in the his high school band. His hobbies include hunting, fishing, customizing his S-10 pickup and "hanging out" with his many friends.
Wesley was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia(ALL) on October 1, 2004. Just two days after his eighteenth birthday. On February 1, 2005, he was told that he had only 2 weeks to 2 months to live. This was devastating news to such a faithful and active young man. His say to day life now consist of chemo treatments, bone marrow biopsies, lumbar punctures, X-rays, ultrasounds, transfusions, tons of IV's etc. His carefree & fun life as he knew it is now a life of survival. Wesleys faith in the Lord and belief that "We will find a Cure" should inspire us all! Wesley's treatment began briefly in Dothan Alabama. His quickly transfered to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Wesley is back in Dothan now. He is recieving care at home as he ends his journey with cancer.
/MDAlogo.gif" alt=
Wesley lives with his Mother Angie, Stepfather Michael and 8 year old brother Trenton. He also has an older Sister Amber whom is happily married. She and her husband Adam have an energetic little boy named Addison who is quickly learning to say "Uncle Wesley". He also has two fabulous step sisters Mona and Christin who have each been so blessed with great children as well. Our family is so very blessed.
Soon after Wesley's diagnosis, he was given a marble with a mustard seed inside. Everywhere he goes, he carries this as a symbol of his faith in God. He now gives coins containing this faithful symbol to share them with people he meets. Hoping they will carry God on their daily journeys. If you would like to share a symbol of Wesley's faith by carring your own Mustard Seed please email us.
Wesley has received his miracle from brave individuals who have rolled up their sleeves to donate blood, platelets, WBC's and the greatest selfless act of all his bone marrow donor. Thank you!
Because of your selfless random acts of kindness we can count Wesleys's blessed days of recovery
***Cheer on Wesleys Favorite Team at Auburn University***
oom.freewebs.com/turnerfamily5/Ray Boltz - The Anchor Holds.mp3 " width=25 height=25 autostart=true repeat=true loop=true
************************************************************************************
Dearest Friends and Family,
This is by far the most difficult update for me to write. For of those of you who have not heard, we have our bags packed and will be heading back to “Sweet Home Alabama” tomorrow. Dr. G. came in today with the entire “team” to discuss Wesley’s condition and was totally honest with both of us. With tears and a quivering voice, Wesley asked him if there was ANYTHING else he could offer him. After he received his answer he politely thanked Dr G. and everyone else for everything they had done for him. We have had a revolving door all day today and the phones have range incessantly. We have said more “good-byes” in one day than we have in a year. This is not the way we planned on returning home but Wesley is so excited about seeing everyone, being at home and sleeping in his own bed.
We would like to thank the Doctors and medical staff of MD Anderson, RMH, FOA, Sage Mt. Church and all the awesome families we have met here while here in Houston.
As always, we can never express our gratitude for the faithful and unceasing prayers of each and everyone of you. Please continue praying for Wesley and our family.Today’s special thanks is to Dr. Wilkes Robinson, who on a minutes notice made arrangements to fly his personal plane out to Houston to pick us up and bring us HOME. How can I ever repay this selfless and caring act of kindness from such a dear friend?
Speaking of dear friends, God knew what he was doing in his arrangement of Parker’s schedule. He brought my life long friend here at the time I needed her the most. Tiff has truly become a part of our family—Wesley’s “fill in” sister. She and Wesley have had several long talks (still both of them picking and joking at each other). She will be waving us off tomorrow as we head to the sky on our way home. Kimberly, Wesley's sweet tea making nurse and my wee hours of the morning prayer partner, has offered to drive us to the airport. We will always be grateful, that God placed her in MD Anderson, on the 11th floor to be a blessing to both Wesley and myself. I don’t look forward to these good-byes tomorrow.
Wesley will still be requiring massive amounts of blood and platelets daily. If you really would like to do something to help Wesley, please consider hosting a drive or dropping into Life South to donate.
We are both extremely tired. We would love to visit with all of you that we have missed so much but we will be in need of rest. There is a “Welcome Home Party” planned for Wesley Thursday night in the Dothan High School band room. Please pray that Wesley has the strength and ability to attend. I am unsure of the time but if someone that knows the details would you please sign his guest book with the info. So everyone can join in our celebration of life. This is a party for prayer partners and positive thinkers. Wesley really wants to pick up the pieces and return to his normal life. If you are unable to wish him well in person, please sign his guest book with your support.
My heart remains very heavy. Wesley caught me with tears streaming down my face today and said “Don’t be sad Momma; it has always been in God’s hands.” My baby has such faith and courage. I honestly don’t know what I ever did to deserve a son so amazing.
Just to leave you tonight on a “lighter side”. Wesley has been eating fruit cocktail like it is going out of style. The only thing is that he only eats the grapes and the cherries. We go through can after can picking these pieces out. Some cans may only have two or three grapes and fewer cherries and the rest is wasted. After his talk today with Dr. G, when he finally had pulled himself together, he wanted some fruit cocktail. I kid you not, when I opened the can the entire top was filled with grapes and cherries. Thank you God for the grapes and cherries when we really needed them!!!
Love to All,
Angie and Bama Bound Wesley
Please pray a safe flight for us and safety in travel for Uncle Dwayne, Grandmother and Granddaddy--as they drive home with all our stuff.
************************************************************************************
UPDATES WILL CONTINUE FOLLOWING THIS LETTER.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED PRAYERS AND SUPPORT FOR OUR FAMILY
Journal
Friday, August 28, 2009 6:34 CDT Four years, about 20 grief books later, countless tears, sleepless nights, a few anxiety attacks & bouts of depression, the question of “will this ever get any easier is answered?”-not likely! I felt totally sure that Wesley would always be a part of our lives. We would watch him choose a college, choose a career, choose a wife, we would help him raise his children- never in this picture, did we see cancer entering our lives and our future being left without Wesley. I often go to Wesley daily with the question of "What else could I have done?" The weight of this loss is overwhelming most days and the question of will happiness ever “truly” return to our lives again is asked daily.
Sometimes it's like Wesley's last days keep playing over and over in my mind. I literally dreamt last night that I was telling Wesley that they found another drug to try. I woke up with such hope that maybe this drug would work and then reality set in. It actually forced me to see much clearer how sad it really was that Wesley was so willing to fight for just one more day and when in all reality there was no hope. He had in incurable disease and wanted the doctors to find a cure “through him”. He truly believe that because of his participating in the clinical trials that it would save someone’s life- and what a price he had to pay!!
It was so hard for me to watch Wesley go through what he endured but if I had to watch him do it with anger or with fear it would have been so much worse on all of us. Wesley instead did it with complete and total faith. He would wake up on the mornings when we had to leave going to clinic get dressed, brush his teeth, yawn and get in the car or the RMH bus just as if he was headed to a job. No complaints were ever heard. He would walk into clinic and wait his turn napping while sitting strait up. He'd talk to the nurses, doctors, and chat with other patients with a pleasant attitude and I was always so proud to call him “my son”. I always admired him and wondered if I could handle what he was dealing with - with such grace. Chemo regimens were just part of life and daily meds., blood and platelet transfusions, avoiding germs, and watching for any changes came with that territory including the dreaded middle of the night ER visits because his temperature was 101. We had gotten use to it and he rarely complained and for that he became my “hero”. I honestly thought he would win this battle but that was not in the plans - our happy ending did not come. Wesley will however remain my hero from now until the day I see him in Heaven.
You don't give much thought (serious thought) to heaven until you lose someone really close to you. Sure you believe in it, sing about it, read about it in the Bible and books but you don't long for it or it is not a daily thought. Not until you lose someone dear to you. The strange realization is that your longing for Heaven is wanting to go there more to see your loved one again rather than to see Jesus. I really struggled with this right after Wesley died-to the point of going to my pastor. I truly felt that when I got to Heaven that I would run right past Jesus and start looking for Wesley. He assured me that I would come to the point where I would realize that the only reason I had Wesley was because Jesus chose to bless me with him for a son. I think this longing is only a part of our human nature. Right now we know and love Jesus but we have never spoke or seen him-yet our loved ones, we have loved deeply, shared years with, built dreams around and our focus is them. But thankfully in Heaven we won’t have to choose and we won’t have this limited understanding that we have here in this life.
[Insurance companies refer to earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters as "acts of God". Some consider that a case of using God's name in vain. Who could believe that an earthquake that kills thousands of innocent victims is an act of God. It is however, an act of nature. It moves along, not caring who or what gets in the way or how many lives it takes in its destruction. The "act of God" is the courage of the survivors to rebuild their lives, their homes, find and bury their dead and help their community in a time that they need
it most. If a tragedy, if any loss of life is an experience to teach us a life lesson, then explain the lesson. We never learn the lesson. Unlike when you discipline a child, he learns his lesson quickly and knows not to repeat it. In a tragedy like a death, an illness there is no benefit. It is like you are being punished for something but never told specifically what for. If someone made a child suffer so that something immensely impressive or valuable could come to pass, we would not hesitate to put him in prison.Why then blame God for underserved pain, no matter how wonderful the ultimate result may be?
Most of this comes from the book "When Bad Things Happen To Good People" by Harold Kushner.Someone gave this book to me after Wesley died & I have read & reread it several times. It sits on my bedside table.It has probably helped more than any other books I have read.
We have been touched by so many people's efforts & by the outpouring of love over the past four years-I do believe THAT is "an act of God".It is not an easy task to confront someone who is experiencing grief.I thank each of you for not forgetting Wesley, for reliving your memories of him again with me & for not fearing to mention his name in my presence.I so love to remember & talk about him.ALL I can do is remember.I can no longer experience him.
By His Grace,
Angie
Wesley, my blessing, my pride, my son,
You taught me more than a lifetime of education. I miss you more each day that you are gone. It has been four long years since I have seen your smile or heard your “I Love you Mama’s”. I try to remember the happy times…before you were sick but my mind always goes back to those months and how I was unable to do anything to make you well again. I know that as your mom – I was suppose to be able to “fix” it, put a band aide on it and take away the pain-and I was unable to do anything. That is the source of the ache that stays in my heart. I am not sure if it is allowed but I pray each night for God to check in on you and let you know that I love and miss you. With every fiber of my being- I long to talk to and to see you again…One day I will. I love you baby.
Love, Mama
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday, September 29, 2008 0:32 AM CDT
I realize that it has been a year since I have written anything on caring bridge. The years just seem to go by so quickly. It’s not that I have forgotten – that will never happen. In fact I think about Wesley every minute of every day. Almost everything that I do has to do with finding a way to ensure that no other child or adult has to go through what he did. AND that no other mother has to feel the pain that I have felt and am feeling even now. (This is exactly why I don’t sit down and write much on caring bridge because I am forced to sit at this computer and face my loss…my pain). I deliberately keep myself extremely busy to keep from having to deal with this loss. Is that bad? I’ve been told it was. But for me, that is what I have to do, at least for now. I feel so torn between heaven and earth-half of my heart aches to see Wesley again and to be with him but the other half knows that I am needed here with Michael, Trent, Amber and everyone else. ONLY a bereaved momma would understand that completely. There are so many emotions that I feel from one moment to the next. Even now, feeling guilt for writing about me…my loss, when it was Wesley that lost his LIFE. I understand that he now has it so much better in heaven, but I remember him telling me, when he realized that death was imminent, “Momma, there was so much I wanted to do with my life.” I know he had a happy life even though not a long one. I am certain that he knew he was loved every single day. I also know that he loved me-and that is what brings the happiness with his memories.
And as I sit here with these tears running down my face and tissues close by to keep them from soaking my gown, I remember Wesley’s birthday. Today, he would have been 22 years old. I can’t help but think what he would be doing now. At work, when I have a patient around his age, I always ask them what they are doing with their lives, are they in college, are they working, do they have a girl friend. I never pass up the chance to tell them how fragile life can be and how much their mom loves them. I also tell them they need to live their life for God because their life is ultimately in His hands.
Wesley’s birthday is always hard for me because he loved it so much. He would wake up saying today is MY day and expected special attention for the entire day. He always enjoyed sitting back and letting people sing to him and most of all he loved gifts! On his birthday 22 years ago, I was the one who received the gift. But Wesley received his best gift when he took that first breath in heaven.
There is so much more to write about. The things that we have been involved with lately have kept us very busy, Light the Night recently, Twilight pageant- raising money for LLS, Cook book- raising money for LLS, donating platelets as often as possible but mostly we are just surviving. I am still diligently searching for God’s will in my life. I honestly believe that life’s circumstances are for a specific purpose and I so want to know exactly what that purpose is in my life.
Wesley,
Happy birthday, baby. I love you and miss you tremendously! I’m giving platelets today in your honor and taking a balloon to the gravesite. I hope that you will see me from heaven. Michael also said that we were going to El Palacio tonight for dinner. I’ll have an enchilada (meat and cheese only) and a cheese dip for you.
Love,
Momma
Read Journal History
Hospital Information: ***WESLEY RESIDES NOW WITH HIS HEAVELY FATHER AND IN OUR HEARTS
We want to thank everyone at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston TX for everything
We also want to thank the Ronald Mc Donald House for being our Home Away from Home for so many months
Links: http://www.marrow.org/
http://www.mdanderson.org/
http://www.ronaldmcdonaldhousehouston.org/home.htm
|
|
