Written by Adam Lawrence
Dec. 20, 1999 (David's funeral)
When I first met David
in the summer of 1998, he was with Kevin Wright at Grandma and Grandpa
Reid’s house. Kevin
introduced David to me and then
David walked over to me and shook my hand and said hello.
A couple of months later, I was asked if I would be a caregiver to David.
I accepted, not knowing what an amazing
little boy he was, one who I
would eventually grow to love and care very much for.
This little boy had the greatest determination and biggest heart of anyone
I have ever met, and I saw this in him the first
time I looked after him.
Considering David had trouble walking and seeing we would still play hockey,
David's favorite sport
for hours after school.
Even when the time came that David could not stand under his own power
we would still be playing,
with David sitting on the ground
or using a chair.
His determination was shown the most to myself when, while David was confined
to a wheelchair, I would put him in
my lap/between my legs and have
Brendan or Brady shoot at us. It was at this time in David's life,
as the disease got worse
that people (for good reason)
began to feel sorry for him and act sad when they saw him. But the
last thing that David felt in his
heart was sadness. This
little boy, whose body was deteriorating more and more continued to smile,
laugh and love. His face
would light up every time Mary
gave him a kiss, and I never heard a boy laugh so much as the time we read
Robert Munsch’s
book “I have to go Pee.”
Now that David is gone, I feel a sense of sadness, but also a sense of
happiness. He has made such an impact on my
life, as well as many others.
He showed me that even when times are at there worst he was always willing
to smile. He also
brought into my life a wonderful
woman in Karen and two great little boys in Brendan and Brady.
Since David passed away, every time I close my eyes I see David in heaven,
running around, playing hockey with other
children. It comforts
me to know that he is in God's hands and can now watch over us, as we watched
over him.
At David's last birthday I wrote him a poem that I modified from a book
that Tammy and I had read him many times.
Many times after I had visited
David I would say this poem, and now I would like to say it one last time:
I’ll love you forever
I’ll like you for always
As long as you're living
My buddy you'll be.
Adam was a special friend of
David's, was a never ending support for David and the rest of us, even
when in University, Adam
would drop in faithfully to
see David at the hospital. We are blessed to have Adam part of our
circle of friends.