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Kimberly Lemmons was Tyler's 7th grade math teacher and tennis coach. Below is correspondence between Kim and Laura about Kim and her husband, Kelly's impending arrival of twin boys.

January 2, 2005

Hello Laura,                                                                                      

I’ve wanted to call you but you can probably tell that I get a bit emotional very easily.  So I decided I’d send you a card.  Well, my baby shower is coming up and you should get an invite within the next week.  I have been struggling with whether or not I should tell you the names we chose, but I know that I should because I want you to know that one of our boys will be named Tyler.  I didn’t want to upset you, but I certainly don’t want you to come to the shower (if you can make it) and find out then.  Once I read the poem (“Say My Child’s Name") on the website, I realized that you would want to know.  I hope it’s not too upsetting and that it really is music to your ears.  I’ll hopefully talk with you soon and hope that I’ll see you at the shower.

Take care,

Kim

Oh yeah, the other name is Chase.  Both middle names are Andrew!


Tyler and Chase Lemmons

 

  Laura's reply to Kim's news:

January 5, 2005

Kim,                                           

Funny, I got the card you mailed shortly after I sent you the email earlier.  What a coincidence.

You certainly brought me tears of joy and music to my ears!  You have made us quite happy knowing that you are naming one of your children, Tyler.  It is such a wonderful name!  We are truly honored that Tyler touched you so deeply.  Wait......am I being way to presumptuous??  I just re-read your card, and nowhere does it say that you are naming one of your son's 'after' Tyler.  I do apologize if I am reading too much into it.  In any case, Tyler is a GREAT name!!  You were a very special teacher to Tyler and I know that he will be a fantastic guardian angel for Tyler and Chase!  :-)        

Well, I received your email today.  I had the top part of this email sitting in my draft box.  I was feeling a bit awkward about my presumption.  But, then I decided that I would get nowhere by not sending you my thoughts.

I bet you are huge.  I can only imagine.  Let's just hope that the boys don't get too big before they are born.  Tyler weighed 9 lbs and 3 oz.  He was a football player right from the start!!  So I can imagine how big you feel with 2 of them!

Well I am going to get.  Thank you so much for sending me the card and sharing in the joyous news of your sons' names.  I can't wait to see you - and how big you are (lol)

Take care and talk to you soon,

Laura

Kim's response to Laura:

January 6, 2005 

You weren't being presumptuous. As we thought about names for the boys we wanted strong names that represented character. That's why I put Tyler on our list. As I thought about it, I didn't want to use it because Tyler was gone and I just thought it would remind me of your sadness and what it felt like to lose such a wonderful young man. When Kelly and I talked, he reminded me of when Tyler played tennis for me, I always said that Tyler was the type of young man a mother would be proud of and that he was such a neat, friendly boy with a strong character. The type of person that I saw in Tyler really made it an easy choice. I really wanted to tell you the day I saw you and your Mom at Scott and White, but I just couldn't do it. After Kelly showed up for the appointment and I talked to him about it, we went down to see if you were still there but you had already left.
 
I can only imagine what it has been for you to fight so hard for your own recovery and to deal with your loss at the same time. All that on top of still having to take care of a family and all your other responsibilities left you little time to deal with any one piece at any time. I hope you are still a part of a group that helps you work through the grief and the latent effects of now having to face Tyler's death without all the other complications of recovery and all. I am so glad that you are near your Mom and Dad and that you don't have to look too far to get the needed empathy and support. I don't think the holidays will ever be easy but they become more bearable. As long as you are allowing yourself to grieve in a healthy way and when you are down you don't stay down too long, I think you are doing what you need to do.
 

Take care and I hope to see you at the baby shower!

Kim

January 12, 2005 (6 weeks early)

 

Tyler Andrew was born at 12:58 AM, weighing 5 lbs. 10 oz. and 16.5 inches long.

Chase Andrew was born at 1:00 AM, weighing 4 lbs. 11 oz. and 16.5 inches long.

They were whisked off to NICU and were there for 5 days. We were able to take them home on January 17th but it didn’t last long. On January 19th, Chase was readmitted to NICU and we went home only with Tyler. We were just able to bring Chase home on the 26th. They are both doing really well. We are overjoyed! They are some tiny blessings!  Kim and Kelly


Tyler in NICU.

 



Chase in NICU.