An Inspirational Young Man
This week Kristi learned that one of her friends found out their 17 year-old Grandson has a rare form of terminal cancer, and the doctors told them his life expectancy would be less than one year. They were given the options of aggressive treatment that might extend the young man’s life by a few months, or they could go a little less invasive and give him a better quality of life.
The Grandma called Kristi and told her she had heard about the Foundation. She asked if the Foundation would be able to put her in touch with any resources to help the family. Kristi told her the Foundation would be able to help with some funds and also gave her the name of some resources that could assist and support the family. I also had Kristi tell her we were doing a fundraiser at The Ultimate Bull Riding Battle at Sandy Downs on Saturday night, and we would donate all the funds we raise that night to the family.
Kristi and I took the card over to the Grandmother and she told us a little more about the family and this young man. She told us the Dad had been laid off of work because of Covid and was trying to start his own business. When the young man found out how much time the doctors told him he would have left, he said he was looking forward to doing missionary work on the other side of the veil. He said he did not really want to go to school, because he knew he wouldn’t be here to graduate. He did want to go to seminary and go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead. When they ask him if there was any thing special he wanted to do, he said he would really like to go to prom. I told her to let the family know I wanted to take him to prom in a limo if they would let me.
Kristi and I have talked about this situation and can’t even imagine what the parents are going through. We discussed how hard that would be if it was one of our sons or granddaughters going through the same thing. We also admired what an amazing positive attitude this young man has. When faced with such tragic news, he has such as positive outlook on his situation, and what he will be able to do to help other people. It has really made me realize how grateful I need to be for our Heavenly Father and his plan of salvation for all of us. It has helped me focus on being the kind of person I need to be and how grateful I am for all of my blessings.
This week I am going to ask for something I rarely do in my stories. I am going to ask anyone who can to donate money to the Foundation so we can help this family. You can donate on the website at www.shannonwilkerfoundation.org/ or you can Venmo me at @ShaneWilker. Please reference Eric Adams and Thanks for Reading.
P.S. I am happy to report we raised over $500 at the Bull Riding Event.