Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm). try our photo index page instead

Keith made his entrance assisted by his daddy on Feb. 22, 1978, healthy and robust, weighing in at 11 lb. 12 oz. and rearing to go. As he grew he was mostly content playing alone being the baby, as his brothers were older than him? Chad was 5 yrs older and Jeff was 8 yrs older.

Keith was an active child and kept busy most of the time. He started to bowl at age 6 and continued to bowl throughout his Jr. and Sr. High School years. He was also in the Jr High band where he played the Tuba. Keith had many friends but was really more of a homebody. He was just as happy listening to the "moldy oldies" with us as he was listening to his "grunge" music. He loved hunting, fishing, camping, going to the beach. He was also an outdoors type person.

Keith graduated in 1996 and wanted to work for a year before going to college. He wanted to get a BS in either CAD (computer aided drafting) or Robotics. He was the computer buff in our family. He was planning on going to ITT in the spring of 1998, but that of course was not to be. Life as we knew it was about to undergo a drastic change and our family would never be the same.

Keith developed flu type symptoms on Sept. 21, 1997 and became steadily worse. We took him to the Emergency Room on Sept.23, where he was diagnosed with bi-lateral ear infections and pharyngitis... he was started on antibiotics immediately. I never questioned why lab work was not being done as the drainage from his ears was obvious.

Keith was a certified fork lift operator for Pen-Tab Industries. He continued to work for the next 4 nights. We thought the antibiotics had taken effect, but just 6 days after initial visit to the ER, Keith called me at work very upset. He was experiencing severe pain all over his body, couldn't get out of bed by himself, and was extremely photophobic.

We rushed him to the hospital where this time they did do lab work and and the lab values came back very abnormal. His WBC's were 437,000. A normal WBC is 5,000-10,000. He was transferred to City of Hope in Duarte, California the next morning and was diagnosed with AML (acute myeloid leukemia), and our nightmare began. He was in ICU for the first 2 weeks of his hospital stay, in and out of consciousness, chemotherapy was started, and the Doctors were hopeful. We were all hoping to get him in remission, but that never happened. He received three more different types of chemo with no better prognosis.

We were told that a bone marrow transplant was the next step, the next hope....so we all underwent blood tests, but no match was to be found. So then we had a donor drive and most of Keith's bowling buddies along with friends from High School ?even his teachers stepped forward and were tested in hopes of finding a match, but to no avail.

Through it all Keith never gave up and we kept his morale as high as possible all the time. Keith's girlfriend, Rody was wonderful through the whole ordeal. She was there almost every day, either reading to him, watching TV with him, or just sitting in the dark by his side when he couldn't stand the lights, TV, or anybody. And when he would get anxious she'd get in the bed and just hold and comfort him.

He was able to be home for the month of February where we celebrated his birthday and we are very thankful for that special time. Many trips were made back and forth to the hospital for transfusions, platelets, blood work, etc? but every trip was worth it just to have him home for awhile.

Finally , a bone marrow match was found through the National Registry, from an unrelated, out of the country donor. More chemo and total body radiation was given before he was allowed to receive his transplant on Mar. 25, 1998.

At first he seemed to show improvement, but he then developed a fungal infection in one lung and a viral infection in the other. Finally he could fight no more. Keith left us to go to his heavenly home May 19, 1998 with us and Rody by his side. I held him and sang "You are my Sunshine". Keith never gave up and never once did we actually believe that he would not overcome this and be well again.... "Our Slugger" was no longer in any pain. His suffering was over. Keith had an endearing and lovable personality, and the nurses on Wing V dubbed him "the young prince".

So please tell your loved ones often that you love them, that they are dear to you, because you never know when that chance may be taken away from you. Lives can change in the blink of an eye... this family is proof of that.

A letter to our son...