Two Months Today !! My Story of Kenny ,my Son
Today even though it is not the 30th it is the 2 months since my Kenny went to Heaven. Some have ask that I share more about my son to you. First I have four sons. Kenny was my first born when I was barely 17 a child myself. My sister was born the year before so they sorta grew up like bothers and sister.
Kenny was always a very happy baby with a smile almost always on his face. He had rosy red cheeks with the most beautiful blue eyes and the cutest smile. Kenny loved his family from the start. We lived next to my mom so we spent a lot of time there. When it was time for us to go home Kenny would want to stay with his little aunt and mamaw. One day when he was old enough to talk, I said I had to go fix dinner that daddy would be home soon. Kenny says to me I want to go home with you mommy. Now did I love that but my mom was heartbroken.
From then on Kenny went home with me. When Kenny was in the first grade, one day i was a bit late coming home, he was walking up and down in front of the house tears flowing, he thought his mommy had been in a wreck and was never coming home.
Ken was very protective of his brothers. As each one was born he wanted his friends to come over, but he would always make them stay in the other room, they could only peep at his new brother.
In 1980 we moved from Indiana to Florida for Kenny dad's health. We lived in central Florida, Lake Wales, Fl. Kenny graduated from Lake Wales High School and during his teen years he was involved in our church activities. He sang in a group called New Way Singers' They travel all over the US during the summer to preform. In the church we attended, Kenny met his wife to be Kim. Kim also was in the singing group. We knew we could trust Kenny so we had no problem with them traveling the summer together. Kenny was 17 that year.
The next year Kenny graduated from High School. Not soon after Kim graduated they married in August. Kenny always kept his faith in God. He always attended church. As he grew in his love of God, he would call and tell me about things he felt God wanted him to do. For example: one day he called to tell me he was going to start singing in the church chour. Ken had a beautiful voice. By that time they had left Lake Wales, moved to Orlando, Fl where Kim became an ordained Children Minister. There were in Orlando a few years then they moved to Daytona, Fl.
Kenny had worked for the state of Florida in the Water Waste. He had won many awards during his time with them. He taught classes at the college in Winter Haven for the Water Waste Department. Kenny was so very smart and accomplished many thing.
During these years Kenny and Kim blessed me with three wonderful grandchildren, Pam, Beth, Woody (who know goes by his first name Kenneth). Pam has a wonderful little 3 year old daughter and Beth is due in June.
A few years past and Ken called me again to tell me he was going to finally answer God's call to the ministery. Kenny was ordained in Daytona, Fl. Ken and Kim were totally devoted to God, to each other, to their kids and to of course mom (me) i moved back to Indiana but I would always visit many time a year. I remember when he was singing and we would visit the church, I could only see one person up there it was Kenny. I was so proud of him.
About 3 years ago Kenny accepted a position along with his wife's help as Director of Camp Chula Vista, in Pell City, Al. The camp had been sorta shut down for 3 years and they went there to reopen it back up. They were in love with the place. 200 acres, a conference center, a 37 room motel, several cabins, a large lake. A beautiful place for retreats and camping.
The first year went really good for them. They worked hard to get the camp up and running. That year they had a lot of youth camps, retreats, all kinds of things. The hours were long, but they loved it. That was 2007.
Toward the end of the season Kenny had all these plans during the slow times to update the camp. But around August Kenny started calling me about some pain in his leg. I researched, trying to help him find out what was wrong, but the word Cancer never entered our thoughts. I had had knee replacements. He wanted to know how that pain felt. But the pain he had did not sound like mine On Dec. 4th, Kenny's wife called to tell me he was in the hospital, the first time except one time when he was a teenager. They had already said, it could be an infection, cancer, we don't know till we do surgery. We rushed down and got there right before he went to surgery. Sometime that night on Dec 5, 2007, the doctors came out and said the worst news ever It is Cancer.
We returned home to get things together and went back down in Jan. 08, to help out. He went back to surgery to have his leg repaired. He had Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer that attacks the bones. His leg had to be rebuilt. He had another tumor on his chest and one one his rib. We took him daily to UAB to have radiation. He started chemo. In July of that year he did his first and only Stem-Cell Transplant using his on stem cells. Stem- Cell Transplants are terrible to go through. We stayed through July untill he felt he could it on his own. Kenny continued to do God's work. He was alwsys working even during everything he was going through, going to meetings when he should not have been there due to infections he could catch. Helping when the campers came. Going to get horses miles alway when he should have been in bed. He still wanted to be doing what he felt God wanted him to do.
We helped out that summer too. I thank God that my hubby (his step-father) was free to be of help with the place.
Before the surgery and after the surgery Ken lived in constant pain. Yet he continued to work.
Then 09 nine came. We went down in Feb., then in April my husband had a triple by-pass. We could not go back down for 4 months during his recovery. When we could we went down in Sept. Kenny seemed okay, he was always all the times I would visit try to find special places to eat. In Sept he had found this great Pizza place and It is great Pizza. We stayed for 2 weekends so we could watch our grandson's football game. Ken would sruggle to go to the stands and stay a bit and struggle back to the truck then struggle back to the end of the game. He wanted his son to know he was watching no matter the pain.
Kenny loved God, His wife, his children, his grandchild, his family especially his mom,
Kenny cared for other more than for himself. The last 5 weeks of his life he had gone into sepsis shock. The first time he slept it seemed like forever. No meds just the blood pressure got so low 47/22 the brain loss a lot of oxygen so he slept. When Kenny woke up our joy was over powering. We yelled, we got the nurses, we got the doctors. We felt Kenny was going to make it. God was answering our prayers.
Christmas Day 09 we opened presents in ICU, he refused pain meds until we were finished.
He was awake, aware, he knew all of us. That would be the last day I saw him awake.
The day before my beloved son went to Heaven, the lady in the unit next to him had finished her journey on this earth. The family was so upset. I will write what his wife wrote me. Ken had lost his speech, he had a vent and so we had to guess what he wanted since OCT. The day the lady died, wife told me we had the twenty thousand guess what question that Kenny wanted her to to do. That was Dec. 29, 09. Kenny finally got his wife to understand Kenny want her to go pray with the family cause he could hear their pain. That night Kenny went into shock again and started bleeding, and his kidney's failed. On Dec 30th 09, Kenny too took his journey to his new home in Heaven.
That was my Kenny, always thinking of others. Thinking of their needs. Sick as he could be and actually dying himself, all he wanted was prayer for the other family who lost their love one.
Kenny was my son, Kenny loved God, Kenny suffered much pain. Kenny loved this family.
But mostly Kenny loved His God. I love you my son Kenny, Love mom/Sandi
Kenny was always a very happy baby with a smile almost always on his face. He had rosy red cheeks with the most beautiful blue eyes and the cutest smile. Kenny loved his family from the start. We lived next to my mom so we spent a lot of time there. When it was time for us to go home Kenny would want to stay with his little aunt and mamaw. One day when he was old enough to talk, I said I had to go fix dinner that daddy would be home soon. Kenny says to me I want to go home with you mommy. Now did I love that but my mom was heartbroken.
From then on Kenny went home with me. When Kenny was in the first grade, one day i was a bit late coming home, he was walking up and down in front of the house tears flowing, he thought his mommy had been in a wreck and was never coming home.
Ken was very protective of his brothers. As each one was born he wanted his friends to come over, but he would always make them stay in the other room, they could only peep at his new brother.
In 1980 we moved from Indiana to Florida for Kenny dad's health. We lived in central Florida, Lake Wales, Fl. Kenny graduated from Lake Wales High School and during his teen years he was involved in our church activities. He sang in a group called New Way Singers' They travel all over the US during the summer to preform. In the church we attended, Kenny met his wife to be Kim. Kim also was in the singing group. We knew we could trust Kenny so we had no problem with them traveling the summer together. Kenny was 17 that year.
The next year Kenny graduated from High School. Not soon after Kim graduated they married in August. Kenny always kept his faith in God. He always attended church. As he grew in his love of God, he would call and tell me about things he felt God wanted him to do. For example: one day he called to tell me he was going to start singing in the church chour. Ken had a beautiful voice. By that time they had left Lake Wales, moved to Orlando, Fl where Kim became an ordained Children Minister. There were in Orlando a few years then they moved to Daytona, Fl.
Kenny had worked for the state of Florida in the Water Waste. He had won many awards during his time with them. He taught classes at the college in Winter Haven for the Water Waste Department. Kenny was so very smart and accomplished many thing.
During these years Kenny and Kim blessed me with three wonderful grandchildren, Pam, Beth, Woody (who know goes by his first name Kenneth). Pam has a wonderful little 3 year old daughter and Beth is due in June.
A few years past and Ken called me again to tell me he was going to finally answer God's call to the ministery. Kenny was ordained in Daytona, Fl. Ken and Kim were totally devoted to God, to each other, to their kids and to of course mom (me) i moved back to Indiana but I would always visit many time a year. I remember when he was singing and we would visit the church, I could only see one person up there it was Kenny. I was so proud of him.
About 3 years ago Kenny accepted a position along with his wife's help as Director of Camp Chula Vista, in Pell City, Al. The camp had been sorta shut down for 3 years and they went there to reopen it back up. They were in love with the place. 200 acres, a conference center, a 37 room motel, several cabins, a large lake. A beautiful place for retreats and camping.
The first year went really good for them. They worked hard to get the camp up and running. That year they had a lot of youth camps, retreats, all kinds of things. The hours were long, but they loved it. That was 2007.
Toward the end of the season Kenny had all these plans during the slow times to update the camp. But around August Kenny started calling me about some pain in his leg. I researched, trying to help him find out what was wrong, but the word Cancer never entered our thoughts. I had had knee replacements. He wanted to know how that pain felt. But the pain he had did not sound like mine On Dec. 4th, Kenny's wife called to tell me he was in the hospital, the first time except one time when he was a teenager. They had already said, it could be an infection, cancer, we don't know till we do surgery. We rushed down and got there right before he went to surgery. Sometime that night on Dec 5, 2007, the doctors came out and said the worst news ever It is Cancer.
We returned home to get things together and went back down in Jan. 08, to help out. He went back to surgery to have his leg repaired. He had Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer that attacks the bones. His leg had to be rebuilt. He had another tumor on his chest and one one his rib. We took him daily to UAB to have radiation. He started chemo. In July of that year he did his first and only Stem-Cell Transplant using his on stem cells. Stem- Cell Transplants are terrible to go through. We stayed through July untill he felt he could it on his own. Kenny continued to do God's work. He was alwsys working even during everything he was going through, going to meetings when he should not have been there due to infections he could catch. Helping when the campers came. Going to get horses miles alway when he should have been in bed. He still wanted to be doing what he felt God wanted him to do.
We helped out that summer too. I thank God that my hubby (his step-father) was free to be of help with the place.
Before the surgery and after the surgery Ken lived in constant pain. Yet he continued to work.
Then 09 nine came. We went down in Feb., then in April my husband had a triple by-pass. We could not go back down for 4 months during his recovery. When we could we went down in Sept. Kenny seemed okay, he was always all the times I would visit try to find special places to eat. In Sept he had found this great Pizza place and It is great Pizza. We stayed for 2 weekends so we could watch our grandson's football game. Ken would sruggle to go to the stands and stay a bit and struggle back to the truck then struggle back to the end of the game. He wanted his son to know he was watching no matter the pain.
Kenny loved God, His wife, his children, his grandchild, his family especially his mom,
Kenny cared for other more than for himself. The last 5 weeks of his life he had gone into sepsis shock. The first time he slept it seemed like forever. No meds just the blood pressure got so low 47/22 the brain loss a lot of oxygen so he slept. When Kenny woke up our joy was over powering. We yelled, we got the nurses, we got the doctors. We felt Kenny was going to make it. God was answering our prayers.
Christmas Day 09 we opened presents in ICU, he refused pain meds until we were finished.
He was awake, aware, he knew all of us. That would be the last day I saw him awake.
The day before my beloved son went to Heaven, the lady in the unit next to him had finished her journey on this earth. The family was so upset. I will write what his wife wrote me. Ken had lost his speech, he had a vent and so we had to guess what he wanted since OCT. The day the lady died, wife told me we had the twenty thousand guess what question that Kenny wanted her to to do. That was Dec. 29, 09. Kenny finally got his wife to understand Kenny want her to go pray with the family cause he could hear their pain. That night Kenny went into shock again and started bleeding, and his kidney's failed. On Dec 30th 09, Kenny too took his journey to his new home in Heaven.
That was my Kenny, always thinking of others. Thinking of their needs. Sick as he could be and actually dying himself, all he wanted was prayer for the other family who lost their love one.
Kenny was my son, Kenny loved God, Kenny suffered much pain. Kenny loved this family.
But mostly Kenny loved His God. I love you my son Kenny, Love mom/Sandi
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