The Dream Foundation’s fourth annual Flower Empower Luncheon was held Thursday at the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara.
The nearly 100-degree weather required a quick relocation from the outdoor Monte Vista Garden to a cooler setting inside the nearby Coral Casino. Beautifully dressed supporters crowded under golden umbrellas seeking shade on the outside patio before the formal program began inside.
The purpose of the event was to raise funds to support the Flower Empower Program and to honor 2014 Program Sponsors Tim and Diane Brown; Special Volunteer of the Year Lynette Hall; Volunteer of the Year Bea Molina; Teen Volunteer of the Year Celyne Demonteverde, Florabundance owner Joost Bongarerts as well as a score of dedicated volunteers.
A Marine Corps veteran, Randy Veasley, 51, who served his country for seven years, is now in a fight to create sweet memories for his family.
Veasley, who was diagnosed 15 years ago with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, will have his final wish honored by the Dream Foundation.
“Of course, it’s devastating to learn. I had been athletic all my life,” Veasley said. “It’s been a slow progression. According to the literature, you’re supposed to die within two to five years – I’ve been blessed to be here for 15.”
With family in tow, Veasley will leave Wednesday to Atlanta, GA to visit the studios of renowned filmmaker — and personal hero — Tyler Perry.
FLINT, MI — Thomas Ramey loves NASCAR because he likes to go fast.
He’d always dreamed of driving for NASCAR, but never did he think that it would take a cancer diagnosis to make his dream a reality.
A lifelong fan, Ramey’s large collection of NASCAR memorabilia contains more than 150 pieces, including blankets, T-shirts, ornaments, model cars, key chains and his prize possession, a winter coat signed by Dale Earnhardt Sr. with the words ‘The Intimidator’ on it.
Ramey said that with modern technology, he feels like he’s actually in the car with the driver when he watches the races on TV. “I find myself sitting here leaning into the curves and thinking, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t have done it that way. I wish I had a chance to do it just one time, just to see if I could do what they do,'” he said.
Athens Heart Center recently helped a Winder woman fulfill a lifelong dream to visit the home of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
Willie Howell, 65, traveled to Orlando, Fla., with her family last month to visit Disney World.
Already suffering from heart issues and Type 2 diabetes, Howell was diagnosed last year with terminal lung cancer.
When asked if she had a final wish, Howell told her cardiologist, Dr. Subodh Agrawal of the Athens Heart Center, that she regretted never having visited Disney World.
CLOVER — The poet lay in her bed Thursday morning, dying.
But on this day – in spite of the cancer in her breast, spine, liver and lung – cancer lost.
Linda Davis, the poet who wrote on yellow legal pads, won.
Her loving husband Richard – who is dutifully taking care of his wife of 30 years while she fights to live – tried not to be excited but failed. A package had come all the way from California, from the nonprofit Dream Foundation.