Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Happy Birthday Bud

July 15, 1988 ~ December 2, 2005
























Today would have been my Tyson's 20th birthday. Thinking of him as a 20 year old is hard to believe. We really miss him but truly cherish all the times we were blessed enough to spend with him. He was an amazing person. He influenced so many people by his example and his inner strength. He always had a smile and never complained no matter how sick he felt or what kind of pain he was in. He taught me so much more than I ever taught him. That boy was heaven sent from day one. I feel so honored that I was privileged enough to get to be his mother. Happy Birthday Bud!

Tonight we are going to celebrate his life with a party in his honor at the cemetery. This has now become a yearly tradition. Some of his friends and of course family join with us. We write messages on cards that have his photo on them and tie them to balloons and let them go. There is an email address on the card in case anyone finds them. We have received a couple responses the past two years. Then we light fireworks around his grave since Tyson was all about fireworks! That boy was a pyro! After that (if the cops don't come) we will sing Happy Birthday and serve Chocolate Ecstasy. He liked that much better than cake. This year I also have a Hula Girl pinata' that all the little cousins will have a blast breaking open.
























Tyson's first two weeks were spent mostly in the NICU at the Primary Children's Hospital. The first three months of his life were spent in the Med-Surg ward there as well. He was a little fighter and beat the odds that were against him. We felt so blessed to have such a great hospital and doctors so close by. It was a great day when we finally got to bring him home!


I know, I know.... I got a little carried away with the photos. Two reasons. First, I have been playing with this new Picasa program I downloaded that I'm trying to learn, and second, it was great therapy for me to do this today. Most of these are collaged and very tiny and so in order to see them you will have to click on them to enlarge. Enjoy!

Tyson was our second son and followed his big brother Skyler around like a little shadow. They were always the best of buds. He loved babies and was a very sensitive and loving little boy. He was always the first to know if someone was feeling down and would always go out of his way to try and make it better. Click to enlarge
























Tyson had a very funny and witty personality. He was always dressing up in elaborate things and kept us entertained and laughing at all times. He was able to go to the 2002 Olympics to a hockey game. He was a great scout and only two merit badges away from his Eagle when he passed away.

















Even though he spent a lot of his short life not feeling well, that didn't stop him from being involved and active. He was his Freshman class president, loved to paint ball, snowmobile, make movies, go camping, four-wheel, hunt, water-ski, drive (even though he could barely see over the steering wheel!), went to all his scout camps, climbed the steep rocks at Lake Powell...and on and on. He was very adventurous. I found out after from his friends a lot of the stuff he did that I didn't know about! And it was a good thing I didn't! Click to enlarge

















These are a few shots of some of his hospital stays. He was usually in for a two week stay at least twice a year. His hospital visits were anything but boring! He kept the nurses and doctors on their toes when they came in. He usually had a 100cc syringe filled with water or silly string ready to fire. While at the hospital, Tyson and his bros loved to have ice wars...(by shooting ice through a straw.) He made good use of the room oxygen and latex gloves as you can see in the photos. We were told by many nurses and respiratory therapists through the years that he was their favorite patient. He made everything fun.

















He was always coming up with something crazy. He was never embarrassed, though on occasion WE were!

















Tyson always loved Hawaii and the ocean. We were able to go there as a family before he passed away. That was a great blessing that we will always treasure. He loved to wear Hawaiian shirts. That was his trademark. He didn't care what people thought and would sometimes wear a crazy tie with his Hawaiian shirt! He really loved his little cousins and they loved him. Babies and animals were drawn to him and he to them. He was a great big brother and McKay stuck to him like Velcro. He was well liked and had lots of friends. He was the life of the party! He was always laughing and had the cutest and most contagious laugh. Oh how I miss that laugh!

















Always the comedian. He was always doing something crazy. The third photo on the top is one of him in the hospital with his pet bunny Bandit. He missed him and begged us to bring him. So we snuck him in. Shh....!!! It was great! So many great memories! The fourth photo on top is taken outside at the hospital. He is the one climbing on the bar! Yes, the hospital patient out climbing on the bar! His pants would never stay on. He would just drop them wherever he happened to be...no worries! That was Tyson. He loved Lego's and was very talented at building cool things. He was very good at art and drawing and also loved to make movies. He could quote the dialogue from a movie verbatim after only seeing it once. He really liked the Lord of the Ring series and Star Wars. He wanted to be a movie director as a career and he would have made a great one. click to enlarge

















These were taken when Tyson was 15 and McKay was six.










Though we miss him terribly, we know he is good hands and doing great things. We love you bud!
Happy Birthday Squirt!






















16 comments:

Jen said...

What a great tribute to a wonderful person! I think he was equally as blessed to have you for a mother. I love that you're having a party and having fun at it doing all the things he liked. I admire your strength and your ability to love life and be positive. You're awesome!

Yvonne said...

Jodi--You are an amazing woman. I don't know what to say. He was obviously a wonderful young man who was blessed to have been sent to such a loving, wonderful home. It must have been a privilege to be his mom.

Dawn said...

Jodi, he sounds like a wonderful young man who had a wonderful family. You are truly amazing! (((hugs)))

SkinnyJeanGirl said...

Jodi, you are an amazing mother. That made me cry. What a tribute to your son. You know what it's like to have a baby in Primary's too. I can't imagine how you feel. You are so strong. What a blessing for him to be your son and you to be his mother. What a wonderful man. I'm sure he's in heaven hugging all those sweet babies.:)

Carol said...

What a beautiful tribute to a clearly wonderful son!

That picture of him with Saviour gave me goosebumps. Hooray for Forever families.

Audrey said...

Thanks for sharing your memories with me. Great job with all of the pictures! I'm so glad that you have a good tradition for celebrating Tyson's birthday. I know that it really helps. You are doing great! I'm sure that Tyson is happy and smiling.
Love you!

RoeH said...

Great post. It's hard to put into writing how a mom must feel but I know how a grandmother feels like as Gillian only lived six hours. But isn't it wonderful knowing where they are now and probably what they are doing and who they are with. What a blessing this knowledge we have. It doesn't take away the thoughts that she would be have been baptized this coming October and things like that. I would have liked to have known her. I never quit thinking about her and including her in many ways that we can.

Mel said...

Wow! What great memories of your boy! It seriously made me cry. So beautiful. You are amazing how you can hold on to the wonderful memories to help you through the hard times. You are an inspiration to all who know you. Thank you for sharing that beautiful tribute.

Sleepless In St. George said...

I found you through missy earl (use to be in her ward). Your son sounds like he was amazing boy. I am so sorry for your loss. My friend lost her 14 month old baby about a month ago and has written about it on her blog www.adailyscoop.blogspot.com Perhaps you would have some insight for her!

Anonymous said...

Wow!!! That was touching....
Thanks for sharing your lives with us. I wish I had known him here as well. You truly were blessed and still will be....

The Hoyt Family said...

I too admire you for your strength. I'm not sure I could be so strong.. What a great way to tribute to him and his life.. I absolutely love the picture drawn of him and jesus.. Wow amazing. What a talented artist someone is. Very beautiful. Enjoy your day..

Kami said...

What a beautiful and endearing tribute. I literally could not keep the tears from falling. You have such a beautiful family! I couldn't imagine being away from one of my babies but I'm so glad for the knowledge that we are an eternal family forever. (I hope you don't mind if an anonymous stranger added you to her link list!)

Carol said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
EarlGirl said...

He looks like such a fantastic person. You can see it in his eyes. I can tell his was a life fully lived. This is a wonderful was to celebrate his life.

Jodi said...

Thank you all for your kind words. And you are all right...he was a WONDERFUL and INCREDIBLE young man. I truly appreciate all your comments. They mean a lot!

I did an oops and erased a comment...I think it was from Carol. Sorry!

Holly (2 Kids and Tired) said...

Jodi, that was a beautiful tribute. He sounds like a remarkable young man. I remember what it was like when my son was in the NICU.

You're amazing!

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