Happy Birthday and Happy Heavenly Birthday, Tammy!

[West Metro Realty]

I looked up this old post and am quoting it in memory of my sweet angel, Tammy, whose birthday is August 9th, but whose heavenly birthday is August 11th.

 

To update since this post was done back in 2004, our family had a new family angel born on August 11th and my niece, Kate, shares Tammy's heavenly birthday.

 

Tammy's mother, my sister Nan, has Lupus and has a difficult time with that disease. This is a hard week for her every year. Please send your prayers and good thoughts to her on August 9th.

 

My sister, Nan, also has a one-year-old grandson who is a great blessing to her. She also has several step-grandchildren and her life is full and blessed.

 

Nan makes Re-born dolls and has always made and collected dolls since Tammy showed such an interest in the dolls that everyone brought to her. Nan's website is www.CradleOfAngels.com. The baby in her logo is her little grandson, Max.

 

Most of all, I want to say: Thank you again, Paulding County.

 

Betty

 

 

 

Long before I lived in Paulding County, I was affected by Paulding County. I actually lived in Cherokee County, but every Wednesday evening, I drove directly from my job to my sister’s house in the subdivision in Paulding where she had her ranch style home.

Wednesday night was my sister’s night. We would stay up until all hours of the night and I would catch up with everything that had happened with her during the week. Most of the time her week’s events weren’t good.

My niece, Tamra Renea Wilson (Tammy), had been born with Cerebral Palsy, and she was severely mentally retarded. My sister, Nancy, was basically a shut-in. Nancy spent every waking moment just keeping her daughter alive. During the last five years of her life, it was especially hard. She had to suction her daughter’s trach tube just to help her breathe. Tammy was fed with a stomach tube. My niece spent the last five years of her life just struggling to live. She had an enormous will to live, but it was a losing battle. My sister’s struggle was just retaining her sanity through it all.

Before Tammy got so bad, she attended Paulding Enterprise. That was before it changed to only accept adult students. It was a life-saver for my sister. Two summers in a row, I went with that group to take the children to Walt Disney World and other Florida attractions. Always, I was struck by how much love that the people of Paulding gave my niece and other children like her. One summer I was responsible for a child with Downs Syndrome named Johnny. The next summer I spent with a child with autism. Those were life changing experiences for me.

My sister and her husband belonged to Tabernacle Baptist Church where Bill Patrick was the preacher, and it was common on my Wednesday night visits to see a member of that Church coming to check on Nancy and her family. They were always there, making sure she was okay and that the family had everything she needed. Nancy’s family grew to know those Church members and the members of Nancy’s subdivision. We were so grateful that they were there for her when we couldn’t be, considering how far away Nancy’s family lived.

Nancy’s next door neighbor, Linda Rollins, told me later that she used to watch me out the window of her home riding my bicycle with my nephew, Tim, on Wednesday nights, and think how she wished she could find me a husband. When Frank Sparti’s sister, expressed her wish to find her brother a partner, Linda Rollins found a mission. Every Wednesday when I came to visit, she would tell me about Frank. Every time she saw Frank at her job where she worked for Dr. John Sparti she would tell Frank about me. Together with my sister and Frank’s sister, Linda collaborated to bring us together. We submitted to their combined efforts and married after knowing each other only four and a half months. We were both twenty-seven years old at the time. We had our first child just nine months and eleven days later. We’ve been together ever since.

I continued to try to spend time with my sister on a weekly basis, but after marriage and with a baby of my own on the way, it was more difficult. Paulding County stepped in to become my sister’s family. I was amazed at how much Nancy’s community and her Church did for them.

When it came time to take Tammy to the hospital that one last time, everyone knew that this time the ambulance would not be bringing her home. As the ambulance rolled out of the subdivision, all the neighbors lined up on the road and silently stood, watching them pass in silent tribute and support.

My niece, whose birthday is August 9th, died on August 11th. When Tammy was brought back to Eberhart Funeral Home, the parking lots were full of Paulding County people that helped us all make it through that difficult time.

As I saw the parking lot of Eberhart Funeral Home full to capacity several times this last month to show their support for Charles Curl and Edna Parker, I remembered how full it was after Tammy died and it made me remember how wonderful it was to be a part of such a community.

When I was growing up, I moved around a lot. My father had “itchy feet”, we called it. I went to several different schools. I always promised myself I would find a place that I could settle and be a part of the community. I am grateful that Paulding is now my home. Thank you, Paulding County, for helping my sister and my niece those many years ago. May you always embrace each other in such a selfless way.

Please pray for my sister through this difficult week for her. Even after all these years, it is still hard.

In memory of our family’s angel, Tamra Renea Wilson, born August 9, 1971, died August 11, 1987 at the age of sweet sixteen.

 

[R. U. Serious?]

That just makes you cry!! What an Awesome story, God Bless You All!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAMMY!!

 

 

Mrs G

[XTREM99]

What a sweet story. Thank you for sharing this. It just puts so many things into perspective. I am at work and in tears reading this.

[Bigun3026]

What blessings we create without even knowing it! Such a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing it.

[Victoria&Noah'sMom]

Happy Birthday Tammy!

 

Thank you for sharing...

[Lady Raider]

Thank you for posting that..... Just recently loosing my Daddy, and his Birthday was on the 5th of this month, I know the pain...

 

But we can all take comfort in knowing that God has all these Angels, looking over us.. and we will see them again..

 

this is a poem I posted in my Daddy's birthday thread... and I want to post it here also in memory of another Angel that has went home...

 

 

He Only Takes The Best

 

God saw that you were getting tired,

And a cure was not to be;

So He picked you up in His arms,

And whispered, Come with Me.

With tearful eyes we watched you suffer,

And watched you fade away;

Although we loved you dearly,

We couldn’t make you stay.

Your heart of gold stopped beating,

Your tired eyes laid to rest;

God broke our hearts to prove to us,

He only takes the best.

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Tammy......

[West Metro Realty]

What a lovely poem, Laider Raider, and I'm so sorry for your loss. Thanks, everyone, for the Heavenly Happy Birthday wishes for Tammy. I'm sure she is happy now.

[West Metro Realty]

Happy birthday, Tammy.