PROJECT: COURAGE OF TWO BY: MARC WELLS and ROXANNE SCHULZE SYNOPSIS: In November 2004, Denver Wells, a six year old, was rushed to the hospital after going unconscious. After several blood tests, it was found that he had Type I Diabetes. While Denver was hooked to I.V’s, another six year old boy, Patrick, walked back and forth looking in on him. Patrick was excited to have another little boy, his age, in the hospital with him. As Denver grew stronger he was allowed to get out of bed and finally meet the little boy who had been keeping a vigil for him. The two soon formed a friendship and were inseparable during their hospital stay of many weeks. Patrick and Denver would sit and play together at the Lego’s box while building projects together. From time to time, they would take turns being sick and would have to be bedridden for a while. When one boy would get sick, the other would check in to make sure they were getting better. One day, the two boys were driving the electric Jeep that was specially made for sick children, when it came to a sudden stop. Denver looked at Patrick and asked, “Patrick, how come you don’t have hair like me?” Patrick looked to Denver and said “I have a thing called Cancer.” Denver did not understand what “Cancer” meant, and the two boys continued on their journey. Patrick was soon released from the hospital and Denver spent many days thinking about his new found friendship, and how when he got out of the hospital, he and Patrick were going to go snowboarding together and play. Before Denver was released from the hospital, Patrick had already started making many trips to a specialized hospital in Portland, OR. Both Denver and Patrick would ask their parents when they could see each other again. This would be a challenge as over the next four months, both boys would take turns going to the hospital in Portland at different times. In April of 2005, Denver was once again in the hospital when his grandmother called. The news that she had would devastate Denver as she explained that she had read that Patrick had passed away. While back at home, Denver approached his father and told him that he was sad for Patrick and that he missed him. Denver’s father gave him a hug as he cried and tried to explain what cancer was. They looked it up on the internet and found themselves at the website for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. After registering, they were able to look up what it means to have cancer as a child. Within a week, Denver received a letter that would change his life forever. The letter was addressed to Mr. Denver Wells. He opened the letter and found a contribution form for the hospital, so Denver stuffed his allowance of ten dollars in the envelope and mailed it off. Within a month, he received another. For the next two years, Denver pulled a little red wagon through his neighborhood collecting empty cans and would turn them in as he received them. One day he worked bussing tables for tips in a restaurant that his father managed, when a guest asked why such a young boy was working so hard. His father explained the story and found that the guest was a news reporter. The reporter then asked if he could do an interview with Denver. Shortly after the news story was out, his mailbox was full of envelopes. As Denver opened his mail, he discovered many cards of praise, with attached checks to St. Jude Hospital. Over the next month, Denver gathered all the checks, and his own money, placing it all in a large manila envelope. There was nearly $10,000 for the hospital.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 21:03:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015