Wency Thompson

If you have ever met Wency I would say that you have been blessed with a kindness that is extraordinarily rare. The empathy and caring that she has comes from her father and has carried through to our son. I could probably accurately say that there is not a person that has met and disliked Wency. Bold statement, yes, but true. I’ve known her for about 30 years, so I have seen her put a smile on the most hardened face time and time again.


The warmest of hearts and the most beautiful smile, Wency always has others thoughts and interests on her mind before anything to do with herself. If you have kids, she knows what your kids like to eat, snack on, or are interested in. If you have close family, she will always remember to ask about them when she sees you. She is an amazing individual with a steel trap memory and a talent in the kitchen that borders on professional. If she has made a meal for you, enjoy it, it was one of a kind and she wouldn’t make it the same again. Everything is made to taste not from a recipe and there are always more adjustments. I love her with all of my heart and every ounce of my being.


We have lived a humble and amazing life. We grew up in a low income area, just blocks apart. I met her through her brother who is one of my best friends. Yeah, awkward. We didn’t even really know that we were dating, we just were together all of the time. The day her mother asked her if she was going out with her “boyfriend” is the day that changed my life. That question prompted a conversation that ended with our first kiss. That was August 1st 1994. She was and still is my best of best friends.  If you believe in karma you would understand that the kindness and love that she naturally emits provided her luck. Not lottery luck, but everything just aligned with her… always. To this guy, who was on a path to be a low-wage worker fresh out of high school, being with her changed my life dramatically. She helped clear my debt, put me on a path to have a future, and eventually gave me the first in situation where I felt I had a family. She pushed me to go to college and gave me direction.


Our children have her traits and are wonderful, kind, and polite children thanks only to Wency, who she is, and her strong sense of family and friendship with others.


Two years ago 10/2016 she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. We were upset, but we fought. I took her to the best cancer research centers in the US including Boston, NYC, Houston and others. We burned through savings, retirement, and college funding to get options or answers or time.  For the most part with some humps, we were able to live a pretty normal life. We just had two (week long) radiation treatments, almost 50 chemo infusion sessions, a few biopsies and several lung clearing procedures. We felt normal. In October we were at the Caroline RenFest for her birthday and were able to slowly walk the entire event, a week later we were in the hospital with what we thought was severe pneumonia. A few more trips to the hospital and we find that the cancer is producing about a liter of fluid in each lung cavity every couple days. I have obviously not been working so I can spend time with her, drain her lungs and hope for the best.


Just before Christmas Wency was released into Hospice at Home. We have people come to check on her daily, but I am with her every moment, I drain her lungs twice a day now and keep her comfortable with the meds she needs to take every 2 hours. If I am not here she goes into a panic attack which may shorten her life. My hand on her chest can soothe her in the worst of these times. That means she loves me and that is all I have asked out of life.


Wency’s cancer is not a mass for the most part, our doctor described it as grains of rice, they are not growing, they are multiplying. There is nothing we can do now. I was asked to start this caringbridge site when we were diagnosed, I was so focused on getting the best care I neglected the site. I am placing this here for others to see that there are truly and naturally “good” people out there. Funds will go towards allowing me to stay with her, keeping her comfortable and begin to replenish our kids college funds. I want to let the world know that it will be missing a rare gem in this sea of the human experience. I would love to chat about our adventures to anyone with an open ear.