Although it has been nine years since my friend Jere Truex died from post-polio-related complications, it still seems like yesterday. Jere had a love of life, he both gave and experienced joy and friendship, and he left a mark on me and everyone else who was blessed to know him. Jere was afflicted with polio when he was seven-years-old and lived as a respiratory quadriplegic for the final 44 years of his life. At a staff retreat a few weeks before his death, he shared that he would rather have lived in the state he did than to be able-bodied and not know the love and forgiveness of God. Even though his breathing was becoming more and more labored and there were days he did not leave his iron lung, he still made us feel welcomed and loved right up to the end. He loved sports - especially women's sports - and was a great listener. The world became a little poorer that Saturday morning in August, 1996.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Jere Truex
Although it has been nine years since my friend Jere Truex died from post-polio-related complications, it still seems like yesterday. Jere had a love of life, he both gave and experienced joy and friendship, and he left a mark on me and everyone else who was blessed to know him. Jere was afflicted with polio when he was seven-years-old and lived as a respiratory quadriplegic for the final 44 years of his life. At a staff retreat a few weeks before his death, he shared that he would rather have lived in the state he did than to be able-bodied and not know the love and forgiveness of God. Even though his breathing was becoming more and more labored and there were days he did not leave his iron lung, he still made us feel welcomed and loved right up to the end. He loved sports - especially women's sports - and was a great listener. The world became a little poorer that Saturday morning in August, 1996.
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