A van for Miles
Donation protected
“When you are living the best version of yourself, you inspire others to live the best version of themselves.” – Steve Maraboli
We write to you today to tell you a story of an amazing family who inspire us to live our best lives. And who, this holiday season, and all seasons, are in need a bit of help and would never ask for it themselves:
Tammy Whicker is the type of person you admire. You admire her because she is brave. She is truly the salt of the earth, amazing person you strive to be. She faces life head on with her head held high. She is kind, honest, caring, and she takes on each day with a strength and veracity which cannot be tarnished, even when life can be uncertain. She does not complain often, even though life has arguably given her worries most of us would not even begin to fathom, she still continues to handle each challenge throughout her life with grace, poise, peace, and most importantly unfaltering love.
I met Tammy in college, where she was pursing her dream to become a special needs educator. After graduation and the start of a new career, Tammy was thrilled to become pregnant and to add Miles into her life. However, in those early days, it became progressively clear that Miles had developmental delays. After many involved tests, it was determined that Miles had an extremely rare genetic disorder: ARTX Syndrome. ARTX can be associated with profound sensorineural hearing loss, weak muscle tone, impaired muscle coordination, developmental delay, and intellectual disability, vision loss, loss of sensation, and weakness in the limbs. To her dismay, Tammy was all too familiar with this syndrome, her brother had the same disorder and she had helped care for him throughout her own childhood. However, having exhibited no symptoms of the same throughout her life, she had not known she was a carrier. Instead of being saddened though, Tammy treated this new challenge as a gift. Miles was her first-born and she proceeded to provide him with his best life, as any parent would. Miles is growing and thriving and just celebrated his 13th birthday this December.
Fast forward to a couple of years later and to her surprise Tammy was expecting her second baby. She already understood there was a 50% chance that if the next born was a boy that he could also have the same syndrome as Miles, but she believed firmly that God was in control and that He would never give her more than she could handle and that this new baby was nothing short of a blessing. They were so excited when they welcomed Gabe into the world on December 26, 2008. Gabe did not have ARTX Syndrome, but Gabe was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Gabe would later receive a dual-diagnosis of Autism. As you can imagine, both syndromes brought with them a whole new set of challenges for the Whicker family, but yet again Tammy did not back down. She continued forward and showered love over Gabe and worked hard to provide those two boys the happiest lives just as any loving parent would. Gabe will be 11 years old on December 26, 2018.
And the love and strength Tammy gives these two shines through them. Gabe is a spitfire. He loves to play drums, to dance, and he loves, loves, loves classic rock music. He adores interacting with others and can be found on any given day listening to ACDC, Post Malone, and loving his life. He is very fond of the beach, corn hole, riding horses, and Chuck E. Cheese. Within the past year Gabe received his communication device. This piece of technology has been a long-time coming and has already begun to allow him to communicate with Tammy more fully. Finally,
everything that is inside of this bright and intelligent child has a way to come out. He is so proud to be able to tell the world all about himself and what he likes! And Miles is equally amazing. He loves to interact with people and he is always smiling. He loves toys with lights and sounds, a trip to the movies, and he loves to snuggle with warm blankets and his family, especially his mama. He is a big fan of his precious grandmother and loves to go to school to learn and see the world. They call him “Smiley Miles” and he is one of the sweetest souls you will ever meet. Additionally, true to their family, both boys love the Duke Blue Devils!!
As mentioned above, before the boys were born, Tammy pursued her own dreams. She achieved her degree in special education and most recently was the head of a program, while living in Arkansas, which helped transition children with disabilities into adulthood, by preparing and finding jobs for them which they will work when they are finished with school. She has helped countless children, including her own, walk this journey in life. She is currently working as a part time teacher helping children with special needs in reading and math.
This story is one that is happy despite what others may perceive as tribulations. It is one of strength and undying, unwavering love. Tammy is one of the most truly selfless people with a strength that I would be remiss to not acknowledge through this letter. However, that does not mean that she does not have her own needs. Tammy may have moral and inner strength in abundance, but Tammy is having trouble with the physicality of two boys who are quickly turning into men. Miles is immobile and is also the same size as Tammy. Tammy admitted the other day that she simply cannot go out by herself with both boys anymore because she has trouble getting Miles into the car by herself. A van with a lift for Miles would make life so much easier.
Tammy would never ask anyone for anything because she would not want to burden anyone else and so we are asking for her. What we asking for, we recognize may seem like a lot, but to them, it would mean the world and handicapped vans are a costly expense. Tammy
is in increasing need of a handicap van with a lift, which would serve to help them immeasurably for many years to come. We urge that you please consider helping them achieve this wish. If you cannot donate at this time, please consider sharing this story because any part would help to achieve this goal for our dear friend. It is hard to explain how wonderful and amazing Tammy and her family are in such a short letter, but we did our best. If there was a definition that sums up endless amounts of passion, admiration, selflessness, hard work, strength that
some of us will never begin to know, and unfaltering and endless love then Tammy would be that word. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Sara Beth and Katy
We write to you today to tell you a story of an amazing family who inspire us to live our best lives. And who, this holiday season, and all seasons, are in need a bit of help and would never ask for it themselves:
Tammy Whicker is the type of person you admire. You admire her because she is brave. She is truly the salt of the earth, amazing person you strive to be. She faces life head on with her head held high. She is kind, honest, caring, and she takes on each day with a strength and veracity which cannot be tarnished, even when life can be uncertain. She does not complain often, even though life has arguably given her worries most of us would not even begin to fathom, she still continues to handle each challenge throughout her life with grace, poise, peace, and most importantly unfaltering love.
I met Tammy in college, where she was pursing her dream to become a special needs educator. After graduation and the start of a new career, Tammy was thrilled to become pregnant and to add Miles into her life. However, in those early days, it became progressively clear that Miles had developmental delays. After many involved tests, it was determined that Miles had an extremely rare genetic disorder: ARTX Syndrome. ARTX can be associated with profound sensorineural hearing loss, weak muscle tone, impaired muscle coordination, developmental delay, and intellectual disability, vision loss, loss of sensation, and weakness in the limbs. To her dismay, Tammy was all too familiar with this syndrome, her brother had the same disorder and she had helped care for him throughout her own childhood. However, having exhibited no symptoms of the same throughout her life, she had not known she was a carrier. Instead of being saddened though, Tammy treated this new challenge as a gift. Miles was her first-born and she proceeded to provide him with his best life, as any parent would. Miles is growing and thriving and just celebrated his 13th birthday this December.
Fast forward to a couple of years later and to her surprise Tammy was expecting her second baby. She already understood there was a 50% chance that if the next born was a boy that he could also have the same syndrome as Miles, but she believed firmly that God was in control and that He would never give her more than she could handle and that this new baby was nothing short of a blessing. They were so excited when they welcomed Gabe into the world on December 26, 2008. Gabe did not have ARTX Syndrome, but Gabe was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Gabe would later receive a dual-diagnosis of Autism. As you can imagine, both syndromes brought with them a whole new set of challenges for the Whicker family, but yet again Tammy did not back down. She continued forward and showered love over Gabe and worked hard to provide those two boys the happiest lives just as any loving parent would. Gabe will be 11 years old on December 26, 2018.
And the love and strength Tammy gives these two shines through them. Gabe is a spitfire. He loves to play drums, to dance, and he loves, loves, loves classic rock music. He adores interacting with others and can be found on any given day listening to ACDC, Post Malone, and loving his life. He is very fond of the beach, corn hole, riding horses, and Chuck E. Cheese. Within the past year Gabe received his communication device. This piece of technology has been a long-time coming and has already begun to allow him to communicate with Tammy more fully. Finally,
everything that is inside of this bright and intelligent child has a way to come out. He is so proud to be able to tell the world all about himself and what he likes! And Miles is equally amazing. He loves to interact with people and he is always smiling. He loves toys with lights and sounds, a trip to the movies, and he loves to snuggle with warm blankets and his family, especially his mama. He is a big fan of his precious grandmother and loves to go to school to learn and see the world. They call him “Smiley Miles” and he is one of the sweetest souls you will ever meet. Additionally, true to their family, both boys love the Duke Blue Devils!!
As mentioned above, before the boys were born, Tammy pursued her own dreams. She achieved her degree in special education and most recently was the head of a program, while living in Arkansas, which helped transition children with disabilities into adulthood, by preparing and finding jobs for them which they will work when they are finished with school. She has helped countless children, including her own, walk this journey in life. She is currently working as a part time teacher helping children with special needs in reading and math.
This story is one that is happy despite what others may perceive as tribulations. It is one of strength and undying, unwavering love. Tammy is one of the most truly selfless people with a strength that I would be remiss to not acknowledge through this letter. However, that does not mean that she does not have her own needs. Tammy may have moral and inner strength in abundance, but Tammy is having trouble with the physicality of two boys who are quickly turning into men. Miles is immobile and is also the same size as Tammy. Tammy admitted the other day that she simply cannot go out by herself with both boys anymore because she has trouble getting Miles into the car by herself. A van with a lift for Miles would make life so much easier.
Tammy would never ask anyone for anything because she would not want to burden anyone else and so we are asking for her. What we asking for, we recognize may seem like a lot, but to them, it would mean the world and handicapped vans are a costly expense. Tammy
is in increasing need of a handicap van with a lift, which would serve to help them immeasurably for many years to come. We urge that you please consider helping them achieve this wish. If you cannot donate at this time, please consider sharing this story because any part would help to achieve this goal for our dear friend. It is hard to explain how wonderful and amazing Tammy and her family are in such a short letter, but we did our best. If there was a definition that sums up endless amounts of passion, admiration, selflessness, hard work, strength that
some of us will never begin to know, and unfaltering and endless love then Tammy would be that word. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Sara Beth and Katy
Organizer
Sara French
Organizer
Kernersville, NC