When my nephew Jared was born, he was a normal, happy, healthy baby. In infancy, however, he developed a seizure disorder. That disorder escalated through the years, and Jared was eventually pronounced mentally disabled. His parents were told he would never develop mentally beyond the capacity of a small child. And being the parents that they are, they took it on themselves to adjust their plans for the future and focus their lives on raising and caring for all of his needs, for literally the rest of their lives.
Jared’s favorite activities and greatest joys came from drawing, watching Boise State football games, singing along to primary songs or other favorites on his MP3 player, and gifting his sketches to family, friends, and anyone who had been blessed to interact with him and be a part of his life. And the seizures continued, as did the love and sacrifice of his parents to make sure he had as normal of a life as they could give him. His favorite activity of all was definitely spending time with his best friend: His dad.
Last night, after a long night and day of Grand Mal Seizures, Jared called to tell his dad goodnight. The conversation was cut short as another seizure hit him. And that was the last seizure his body and mind will have to suffer in this life. One of Jared’s favorite songs was "I Can Only Imagine" – and today, he knows.
This morning, after an all-night drive to get home to his family and his son, my brother lies next to his wife, huddled together while trying to get a few hours of sleep before the reality and questions and decisions of the day overwhelm them. As any other parent in this situation, they are still in shock, still praying to wake up and find it all a horrible nightmare, just wanting to ignore it and have it and the world all disappear, to never face the reality before them.
As you can imagine, the costs associated with this event are a concern. There is no life insurance, no savings, and very little family income for them to answer those questions and start to focus their energies on remembering the life, the blessings, the songs, the drawings, the memories, and the love this little boy has brought them these last 14 years.
And so we write this plea for help. We pray that anyone who reads this will be able to donate something – a dollar, five dollars, anything – and will pass it along. Our greatest desire is to remove the burden of the cost so that his parents can focus on the remembering and capture the beauty and essence of this Angel who will now add his voice to the choirs in Heaven.
Gifts can be made using the PayPal Donate Button on the side bar of this page or by making a donation at any Zions Bank location. Please make deposits in the account "Jared White Donation".
Thank you so much for your help! God bless you wherever you are.
***Update: Funeral Arrangements***
The funeral will be Monday, June 18th, at 11:00 a.m. Services will be held in the Greenhill LDS Ward building. The address is 190 S. Locust Grove Road, Meridian, ID 83642. There will be a viewing from 9:30 - 10:45 a.m. at the church before the funeral. There will not be a viewing the night before.
From Orlan and Cynthia: "Thank you all for all your love and support. We are so thankful for each and every one of you and your kind words and love. We love each of you."
