 Timeline |
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| 1984 |
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Lee was born at 8:53 a.m. on October 25, 1984. He weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 inches long. Lee was a surprise baby and very much wanted, loved and treasured. |
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| ...footprints... |
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| Firsts |
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First bottle: nite of Oct. 25, 1984
First ate cereal: Nov 11, 1984
First drank from a cup: early April, 1985
First drank fruit juice: Jan, 2, 1985
First ate vegetables: March, 1985
First given solid food: Dec, 1984 (fruit)
Yes, I noticed more than anyone could have imagined about Lee. If I made a documentary with every photo, videotape, school paper, drawings, etc., that I have, it would be the first 20 year long documentary in history!
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| More Firsts |
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Sat up alone: 5 months
Started to creep: 4 1/2 months-5 months
Stood alone: 8 months
First steps (a few): 8 months
Walking much better: 1 year
First climbed: Sept 1985
Lee was always so much fun! Not that he didn't have his struggles but he always seemed to want to make others happy, if possible! He probably never knew the enormous amount of happiness he gave! |
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| Lee's first haircut |
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It was so much fun when Lee got his first haircut! He went to the barber across from Guilford College (and continued going to the same barber until sometime in his teenage years).
Of course, I had to have a camera there and have several photos from the big event! Lee was a little perplexed as to what the man (he didn't know at the time) was going to do to him with the scissors! (There's a photograph in his photo album on this site of one of the pictures.) Everything was fine when all was done and he got candy!
I had to save his precious hair; couldn't bear to see it go in the waste basket! I still have it after all these years. I could open a museum with everything I saved relating to Lee!
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| Our Lee |
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| ...a sketch of Lee... |
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This was a quick sketch of Lee as a small child by our friend Dan Wallace.
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| Lee Swims! |
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From Mom on January 15, 2006:
Lee, you loved the water and it made you happy!
I was happy whenever you were happy!
I miss you so much...part of me is missing and I feel
this huge void in my life without your smiling face
lighting my doorway.
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| Collage of Lee |
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 Note from mom/Dec. 15, 2005
Another 15th of the month. I can't believe the
world keeps spinning without you here with us. |
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| Mother's Day note from Lee |
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 ...one of my most treasured possessions...
...a Mother's Day note from Lee ...
long, long ago |
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| The Birds For Christmas |
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| Clean Room Award... NOT !!!! |
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I gave this "award" to Lee and put the note on the top (it says "Lee will never get the" Clean Room Award). He kept it on his bulletin board for a very long time! As usual, (as with most teenage boys), I cannot count the disagreements about the "cave" (Lee's room)!
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| Life Goals |
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| Lee and the North Carolina Eye Bank |
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Lee's corneas were donated to the North Carolina Eye Bank. I received a letter from them recently and left a copy of the letter at Camberly's Garden within the Bicentennial Gardens in Greensboro, NC last week. This is an excerpt from the letter:
"...Our records show that one of Lee's corneas was transplanted into a 34-year-old female from Fayetteville, NC and the other was sent to the Jordan Eye Bank in Amman, Jordan for transplant. We have not received any feedback information on this particular recepient, although that is not unusual with our overseas eye surgeons...."
It's given me a great deal of comfort knowing Lee has helped others to see the world. Please consider being an organ donor...if you're not signed up already. To know that you or a loved one continues in that way of life is something money definitely can't buy. Much love. Gaile (Lee's mom)
"To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour." -William Blake
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| Self Portrait by Lee |
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(You can click on the little picture for a larger view).
This was from Lee's first roll of film on my camera trying out photography for home school. He used my old Nikkormat w/ a Nikon lens. It's not an automatic camera. You really have to learn to take pictures (meaning not have the camera do all the thinking for you) and use a light meter. This wasn't too bad for his first try with my old camera! |
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| ...the last Christmas season... |
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 Lee during his last Christmas season..(back to camera) jamming
with Timothy Duffy and Capt. Luke (Luther B. Mayer) |
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| Always Loving Lee |
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 ...There are a hundred places where I fear
To go - so with his memory they brim.
And entering with relief some quiet place
Where never fell his foot or shone his face
I say, 'There is no memory of him here!'
And so stand stricken, so remembering him.
-Edna St Vincent Millay
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| ...one year after Lee's passing... |
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| More to be added... |
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...as website progresses...
There is so much to tell about Lee's life, it's overwhelming. I'm planning a book about him...even the book will not tell everything. Every time I write about Lee, I end up "smearing the ink with my tears." I miss him so much; it hurts very badly all time. There's an underlying sadness in everything I do.
To those who say, "Get on with your life," I can only say, "I'm trying to figure out how to do that."
I still have many questions about my son's death and about people who were supposed to be looking out for him. Questions like: "Why wasn't he taken to a hospital since he was so ill that night?"... "What does the place look like where he died?" (I'm not allowed to see...for some odd reason.) ..."How many people saw my son's body before the paramedics arrived?" ... "Were the paramedics called as soon as he was found?"... and many more questions I may never have answers for. No one ever talked to me in detail about that night. Then again, I ache for every little detail and have not gotten all of them. It's very frustrating!
I was in Virginia...just went to my sister's house the day before. I had no idea Lee was going to be home from school that weekend. (Lee probably didn't know himself until the last minute!)
I know I forced him go to doctors near the end; made sure he got medicine; etc. When I could see he was so sick, everyone else seemed to think he just seemed like normal "Lee." I don't see how it's possible that anyone thought he was healthy!
None of it may matter now. There's no way to bring him back but I'll never stop wondering about these and other events surrounding October 15, 2004. |
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| 2004 |
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Lee left us on October 15, 2004 at the age of 19. He was ten days away from his 20th birthday.
I haven't added to this timeline page very much because it seems to be the hardest page of this website to work on. I want to think of a limitless timeline with years ahead to enjoy the warmth of Lee's smile.
(Note: February 20, 2006 - I'm getting a little better about adding information to this page. It's slow going because it's so emotional but I'll continue to add on this page as I'm able to.) |
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| Remember Lee on October 25, 2005 |
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October 25th, 2005 would have been Lee's 21st birthday. This year is very hard because it will be one year since Lee left us on Oct. 15. In years to come, I'm hoping I can concentrate more on the wonderful day of his birth.
Lee's amazing life is a great cause for CELEBRATION! So I'm trying to remember every day to be grateful for the time I was able to spend with him instead of thinking so much about his death. I hope those of you who knew him are grateful, too, that he was in your life. |
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| If you have any material to add to this section, please contact the
website manager.
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by clicking here. |
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