In The Beginning
Where to begin? I suppose the beginning. In December of 2013, our son Jayd was working on a ranch in Victoria Texas. Being thrown from a horse, slamming him against a round-pen fence, he had to have some staples in his scalp. He also felt he had hurt his back. He told me about it, saying it didn't hurt any worse when he rode than when he didn't, it just ached all the time. With cancer being the farthest thing from my mind I told him not to overdo it.
​Jayd was a cowboy and he was an adventurer. Though born and raised in Tennessee, his heart was always in Texas as a cowboy. My wife's family is from Texas and we went down often for family events. It didn't help that his grandfather loved horses and the 'Cowboy Way', as well. He encouraged Jayd by buying him his first horse and getting him involved in Rodeo. Jayd participated in youth Rodeo, as well as High School Rodeo. This earned him a college scholarship as a bareback rider. With that he wound up where he wanted to be...in Texas.
​Eventually he met his future wife Jacee there but that is another story in and of itself. Maybe I'll tell that sometime if I can get her to agree not to kill me. In August of 2013 they had a beautiful outdoor wedding at River Road Ranch Resort in Fredericksburg Texas. This place was right up both their alleys. I asked which one had the idea to get married outdoors... in Fredericksburg Texas... in August. The average temperature down there at that time of the year is only around 163.4 degrees in the shade. Yet on the day of the wedding it turned out to be beautiful. I was blessed to be able to perform the ceremony and afterward they, he at 23 and she at 21, were off to begin their new life together. Six months into their marriage, the story I began this chapter with ensued. The pain in his back grew increasingly worse until the real cause was determined: Cancer. ​
Jayd had recently turned 24 years young and had always been very active, even downright adventurous and ‘full of life’, as they say. The last thing we ever expected to hear was the 'C' word. Being a family who knows and trusts the Lord, we immediately went into prayer mode. The next two and a half years would be a roller coaster ride of sickness and emotion. If you are interested in the details, click 'Continue' below...