:'(
as some of you know, my friend Charles died a couple weeks ago. Today his story came out on The Monitor front page news. this is what it said about him.
Messenger of Hope
January 14,2006
Wade Baker
The Monitor
Leukemia patient strove till the end to inspire others
Valerie Garcia remembers the final conversation she had with her 17-year-old son, Charles.
"I asked him if he was afraid," she recalled of the morning of Dec. 10 when doctors began to insert a breathing tube into her son. "He said, Im not afraid. Why dont you go into the other room while they put this in my mouth.
"I told him I wanted to be there with him the entire way. I wanted to hold him."
Doctors then asked Charles what he dreamed about as they sedated him.
"I dream of going home," were Charles final words.
He died 19 days later, on Dec. 29 after a year and a half of enduring an emotional and physical rollercoaster ride with adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His parents, family and friends were by his bedside at Texas Childrens Hospital in Houston.
"He never complained," said his father, Carlos, whose family resides in Palmhurst. "I dont know how many people have dealt with a family member with a disease, but I know a lot of times people just throw their hands up in the air and quit. They just give up. But that wasnt Charles. There were times when hed get down after receiving bad news, but two hours later he was ready to go.
"He lived his final months to encourage. He wanted to inspire the lives of others."
After being diagnosed with leukemia June 8, 2004, following his sophomore year at Sharyland High School, Charles life, along with his familys, became intertwined in a grueling tug-of-war. Instead of working toward his new-found dream of playing football for the Rattlers, Charles life was consumed with visits to the doctor and stays at a Houston hospital.
Charles, the recipient of a $10,000 Rio Grande Valley Make-A-Wish Foundation basement makeover in October, accepted the newest challenge in his life with his characteristic never-quit attitude.
Initial treatments appeared to give Charles hope of defeating ALL, which is considered curable for children but often deadly in young adults. In August 2005, however, he again was delivered bad news when tests revealed the leukemia had relapsed, setting the stage for an inspirational final five months.
"You could see him going down hill physically," his mother said of his final months, "but emotionally he was getting stronger."
Charles passion for writing also strengthened throughout his battle with leukemia.
After the relapse, Charles asked his uncle, Roland Garcia, to buy him a computer. Roland, who lives in Houston where his nephew spent much of his final five months in the hospital, returned to Charles hospital room with a laptop, which became the dying teenagers hub to deliver inspirational messages.
With the help of his father and uncle, he began an online blog, www.charles67.blogspot.com, to update friends on his sickness. As the days passed, Charles began to post messages, cripture and poems he would write.
"I thought he was just going to surf the net," Roland said. "I had no clue that he was going to do that. By the time Charles had passed, that site was not only being viewed by his family, friends, doctors and nurses that site was getting hits from people all over Texas, from people all across the nation. I cant even imagine how many lives he touched."
One life was that of Chaney Phillips, whose 4-year-old daughter, Brooke, is battling acute myelogenous leukemia. Phillips, who joined Carlos and Valerie at their sons bedside when he died, met Charles during a doctors visit at the Texas Childrens Hospital.
"I remember the first time I saw Charles in the doctors office; I looked into his eyes, and he looked back into mine. You could just tell he had an aura about him," Phillips said. "Later, when we became friends, I went to his room to cheer him up in the hospital. I ended up asking him, Are you willing to give up this fight? Just as quick, he responded, I have purpose, therefore Im going to continue this fight. As long as Im alive, I have purpose here. I went to his room to cheer him up, and he ended up inspiring me.
"Thats the type of person Charles was. He will forever be in my mind for the rest of my life."
The days before Charles lost consciousness for the final time, he was glued to the laptop, busy sending messages, scripture and writing what turned out to be his final poem, Roadway to Heaven. Valerie, who said her family is still finding poems that Charles wrote, often worried about the amount of time her son spent on the laptop during his final days, knowing he needed rest.
"It all makes sense now," Valerie said. "There was a reason he was up in the wee hours of the night writing. He knew his time was coming. He was trying to encourage, to inspire, through e-mails, because he knew it was time for him to go. Thats what Charles was he was an encourager. He wanted to encourage those that are living, those that have fought and those that are still fighting.
"To him, all of them were called winners."
And to those who knew Charles, he was the biggest winner of all.
Wade Baker is the deputy sports editor of The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4450.
Below is the final poem Charles Garcia wrote before his death after a battle with adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The poem was written
Dec. 5, 2005, and Charles died Dec. 29. The poem was published on his online blog, www.charles67.blogspot.com.
ROADWAY TO HEAVEN
The road for me has not yet ended.
With steep hills,
And even steeper drops,
Winding roads,
And no pit stops.
Trying to be a nice passenger,
I sometimes wonder if the driver is asleep.
But then He comforts me,
And told me He shall neither slumber nor sleep
Without warning,
The weather changes,
Rain heavily pours down upon our party,
But the guests still remain gleeful,
For they are grateful for the party
Fog blankets my home in an instant.
I cant see tomorrow.
But I have no fear.
I have Jesus, and He is light.
I walk with Him and all darkness must flee.
But one thing is for sure,
No matter what the circumstance
This is the day that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Charles Garcia
Dec. 5, 2005
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Messenger of Hope
January 14,2006
Wade Baker
The Monitor
Leukemia patient strove till the end to inspire others
Valerie Garcia remembers the final conversation she had with her 17-year-old son, Charles.
"I asked him if he was afraid," she recalled of the morning of Dec. 10 when doctors began to insert a breathing tube into her son. "He said, Im not afraid. Why dont you go into the other room while they put this in my mouth.
"I told him I wanted to be there with him the entire way. I wanted to hold him."
Doctors then asked Charles what he dreamed about as they sedated him.
"I dream of going home," were Charles final words.
He died 19 days later, on Dec. 29 after a year and a half of enduring an emotional and physical rollercoaster ride with adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His parents, family and friends were by his bedside at Texas Childrens Hospital in Houston.
"He never complained," said his father, Carlos, whose family resides in Palmhurst. "I dont know how many people have dealt with a family member with a disease, but I know a lot of times people just throw their hands up in the air and quit. They just give up. But that wasnt Charles. There were times when hed get down after receiving bad news, but two hours later he was ready to go.
"He lived his final months to encourage. He wanted to inspire the lives of others."
After being diagnosed with leukemia June 8, 2004, following his sophomore year at Sharyland High School, Charles life, along with his familys, became intertwined in a grueling tug-of-war. Instead of working toward his new-found dream of playing football for the Rattlers, Charles life was consumed with visits to the doctor and stays at a Houston hospital.
Charles, the recipient of a $10,000 Rio Grande Valley Make-A-Wish Foundation basement makeover in October, accepted the newest challenge in his life with his characteristic never-quit attitude.
Initial treatments appeared to give Charles hope of defeating ALL, which is considered curable for children but often deadly in young adults. In August 2005, however, he again was delivered bad news when tests revealed the leukemia had relapsed, setting the stage for an inspirational final five months.
"You could see him going down hill physically," his mother said of his final months, "but emotionally he was getting stronger."
Charles passion for writing also strengthened throughout his battle with leukemia.
After the relapse, Charles asked his uncle, Roland Garcia, to buy him a computer. Roland, who lives in Houston where his nephew spent much of his final five months in the hospital, returned to Charles hospital room with a laptop, which became the dying teenagers hub to deliver inspirational messages.
With the help of his father and uncle, he began an online blog, www.charles67.blogspot.com, to update friends on his sickness. As the days passed, Charles began to post messages, cripture and poems he would write.
"I thought he was just going to surf the net," Roland said. "I had no clue that he was going to do that. By the time Charles had passed, that site was not only being viewed by his family, friends, doctors and nurses that site was getting hits from people all over Texas, from people all across the nation. I cant even imagine how many lives he touched."
One life was that of Chaney Phillips, whose 4-year-old daughter, Brooke, is battling acute myelogenous leukemia. Phillips, who joined Carlos and Valerie at their sons bedside when he died, met Charles during a doctors visit at the Texas Childrens Hospital.
"I remember the first time I saw Charles in the doctors office; I looked into his eyes, and he looked back into mine. You could just tell he had an aura about him," Phillips said. "Later, when we became friends, I went to his room to cheer him up in the hospital. I ended up asking him, Are you willing to give up this fight? Just as quick, he responded, I have purpose, therefore Im going to continue this fight. As long as Im alive, I have purpose here. I went to his room to cheer him up, and he ended up inspiring me.
"Thats the type of person Charles was. He will forever be in my mind for the rest of my life."
The days before Charles lost consciousness for the final time, he was glued to the laptop, busy sending messages, scripture and writing what turned out to be his final poem, Roadway to Heaven. Valerie, who said her family is still finding poems that Charles wrote, often worried about the amount of time her son spent on the laptop during his final days, knowing he needed rest.
"It all makes sense now," Valerie said. "There was a reason he was up in the wee hours of the night writing. He knew his time was coming. He was trying to encourage, to inspire, through e-mails, because he knew it was time for him to go. Thats what Charles was he was an encourager. He wanted to encourage those that are living, those that have fought and those that are still fighting.
"To him, all of them were called winners."
And to those who knew Charles, he was the biggest winner of all.
Wade Baker is the deputy sports editor of The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4450.
Below is the final poem Charles Garcia wrote before his death after a battle with adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The poem was written
Dec. 5, 2005, and Charles died Dec. 29. The poem was published on his online blog, www.charles67.blogspot.com.
ROADWAY TO HEAVEN
The road for me has not yet ended.
With steep hills,
And even steeper drops,
Winding roads,
And no pit stops.
Trying to be a nice passenger,
I sometimes wonder if the driver is asleep.
But then He comforts me,
And told me He shall neither slumber nor sleep
Without warning,
The weather changes,
Rain heavily pours down upon our party,
But the guests still remain gleeful,
For they are grateful for the party
Fog blankets my home in an instant.
I cant see tomorrow.
But I have no fear.
I have Jesus, and He is light.
I walk with Him and all darkness must flee.
But one thing is for sure,
No matter what the circumstance
This is the day that the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Charles Garcia
Dec. 5, 2005