Heya

Just posting to let my dad know I am thinking of him. It was about a year ago this week when I saw him for the first time in nearly 10 years, after my aunt Esther had notified me that my dad was ill. I am so thankful for the short amount of time that my dad and I spent together in Nov and Dec 2007, before he passed from CJD on Dec 20 2007. Though the time together went quick, I am just so happy that I saw him before he died.

It pains me every day to know that my father passed away from familial CJD. To watch him deteriorate so quickly, to hear him say "I am getting holes in my brain", and to know that it was a GENETIC disease was a major blow to me and my family. I myself was put to ease (somewhat) when I found out in August that I do not have the CJD mutation. However, that is only so comforting for I have three beautiful siblings - Michelle, Dawn, and John - all who are still at risk of carrying the mutation and developing CJD.

If anyone is reading this, please take the time to educate yourself on CJD and donate to the CJD research being performed at UCSF. While there is no cure and will likely be no cure any time soon, doctors are getting closer and closer to understanding what "sparks" CJD for both the familial and sporadic forms of CJD. If they can catch the disease when it starts, then they can treat people better and extend their lives. Unfortunately for me, my father went from walking and talking to passing onto the heavens all in less than a month because his disease was caught in the late stages. Yes, he could of had the genetic test performed when doctors in Minnesota asked him to be tested in the 90s, but since (we now know) that he had the mutation, it would have pained him the rest of his life to know that. One of his biggest fears in life was developing CJD as he watched his father die of the disease.

So dad, I love you a lot and I miss you terribly.

Tamara

Thinking of You

Thinking about you dad! :)

Happy Birthday Dad (1943-2007)

Louis (Louie) James Wheeler was born February 12, 1943, at 10:10pm in St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth, Minnesota. He weighed 7lbs, 12oz, was 20.5 inches long, had dark brown hair, blue eyes, and was said to look like his dad. A Dr. Ralph Eckman delivered dad to his two parents, Lewis and Mayme Wheeler. Dad was named after his father Louis and his maternal grandfather James (Knutson). When he was born, he received numerous gifts from friends and family including grandma Wheeler, John and Emily Rouse, the Musiski's, Florian and Muriel Kliber, granny and grandpa Knutson, Al and Hazel Fredrick, Aunt Emma, Thora and Clarence Wheeler, and Della Robinson.

Today I remember you dad, as I light a candle in honor of you. I have placed your urn, your picture, and the candle on the kitchen table so that you are visible to everyone.

As a kid, we used to always sing a certain birthday song. Eh hem!
"Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo, you look like a monkey, and you smell like one too!" .

I LOVE YOU DAD AND I MISS YOU TERRIBLY!!! :(

The Wheeler Times - Quarterly Wheeler Family Newsletter

Hello and happy new year!

While many of us have packed away the ornaments and enjoying our new gifts, some of us are also filled with a somber pain because of the monster called Creutzfeldt - Jakob Disease (CJD). Loosing two family members to CJD (my dad Louis and his cousin Sharon) in 2007 has sparked many Wheeler relatives to want to know more about the disease. Many are asking, “What is CJD? Will I get it? Will my children get it? How can I find out? What research is being done? Is there treatment? How can I get involved?”

My experiences of watching my dad go through CJD sparked me to want to share information on CJD with my Wheeler relatives. It is sad that this disease has taken 12 family members. It is even sadder to know that CJD will affect our family forever. That is why I have put together a family newsletter, thanks to the help of some of my Wheeler relatives!

You can read the newsletter below. Click the image to read the newsletter. I hope you enjoy!