Thoughts from Angie, one month

"February 20, 2014, 

Yesterday was the one month mark of Casey’s leaving his body and going to live in the Spirit world with all those who had passed before him.  Oh how great a reunion it must have been for Casey.  I am sure Casey had some bittersweet feelings about the process, just like I did. I was so happy that he lived the life of a man we all should emulate and helped bring two great kids onto this earth.  I was also happy that his body would be pain free forever and cancer could never, ever touch him again.  I am so glad that he had relatives that had been following him on the other side of the veil, for quite some time, to greet him and welcome him home.  I also know that he would have loved to stay on earth and spend more time with his family if he could have.  But we are walking by Faith and understand that God knows the plan for us and what we need to go through to obtain eternal life.  This pain, suffering and learning process is all part of the plan that was laid out for us before we even came to this Earth.  God knows all and it is by Faith that we go through this life and return to him so we can live eternally with our family.  Oh how great that day will be when we are all reunited again and never have to be apart again.  I am so looking forward to that day.  Until then I will live life the fullest, accept that I am human and will make mistakes, raise the kids as the Lord would have me raise them and listen to what I feel is right and not to go by what others profess is right for my family.  I am sure Casey will help me along the way and will be there for the big milestones in our children’s lives.  I am looking forward to feeling him there and I will live life so I will be able to receive blessings for my kids and myself from my Father in Heaven.

I am reminded of the song, “I Walk By Faith”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxIOvc-EKN8

….I walk by Faith, a daughter of Heavenly Parents.  Divine am I in nature by inheritance, and some day when God has proven me, I’ll see him face to face.  But just for here and now I walk by Faith.  Yes just for here and now, I walk by Faith. "

The Story Behind the Yellow Wristbands

"When the original yellow LIVESTRONG wristbands came out Casey started wearing

one for his Dad because his Dad is a cancer survivor. So Casey had been wearing

the wristband for quite a while when he was diagnosed with cancer on May 2, 2011.

As nurses were preparing to take him back for his 7+ hour brain surgery on Cinco

de Mayo 2011, the nurses noticed that he still had his wristband on. They said that

it needed to be removed. Casey was already connected to IV’s on his hand and the

only way to remove it, so he could go back to surgery, was to cut it off. So the

wristband was cut off and Casey’s Dad kept it to remember that Casey had worn it

for him.

After Casey’s surgery his brother, Mark, ordered another yellow LIVESTRONG

wristband for Casey. Casey proudly sported the wristband for not only his Dad but

for himself.

For a Christmas gift I decided that Casey needed something more on his

wristband. Together we decided that in addition to the LIVESTRONG, on the

other side of the wristband we would add SURVIVESTRONG and a new wristband

was made.

Casey kept his wristband on and never took it off until I removed it for him. It

was December of 2013 and we were in the hospital in California and I decided that

I had better remove the wristband before anyone decided the cut this one off.

When we got back to the U of U and we found out what was going on, I decided

that I was going to have a special wristband made for myself and the kids so that

we could keep wearing his wristband for him. I ran this past my sister, Ruth, and

we came up with a new slogan of BE CASEYSTRONG. She suggested that we order

some for friends and family so they could wear them also. So instead of ordering

them off of the LIVESTRONG website we ordered them from another website to

save on the cost of making them. Because of copyright issues the other website

wouldn’t allow CASEYSTRONG so we changed it to BE CASEY-STRONG. We didn’t

order it on the normal brain cancer color, but in Casey’s yellow wristband color.

One of our sweet neighbors also made this slogan into vinyl and I get to sport BE

CASEY-STRONG on my car, which is fabulous!

Do I need this bracelet on my wrist to remind me of Casey? Absolutely not! But I

wear this bracelet and will live by this slogan to honor Casey and all that he stood

for. I send a message to everyone to live each day to its fullest. Spend quality

time with your family and those that mean so much to you. And most of all live how

the Lord would have you live" :)

- Angie Wheeler

I still have a small handful of wristbands left for those close friends and family who were not able to come to the services and get one. Please contact me at ruthiesilver@gmail.com

Photos from Casey's Funeral

For those who were not able to attend any of the services for Casey, I thought I'd put up some photos so that you could be part of it too. :)

To everyone that attend, Thank You!!! We thought we'd be blown away by the large volume of people coming to show support and love to Casey and Angie's family, and we were!!