Hello I'm Rich Brown and this is my personal website and blog. I'm just your simple, average, down to earth, professional, out gay man and aspiring circuit boy, living in Phoenix, Arizona with a few things to say while trying to find my place among all the scary, conservative, religious nuts in this sick and twisted world.
Friday, March 24, 2006
A Sad Day For Our Neighborhood
On Tuesday Morning, Kyle Winfrey, the 15-year old neighbor of Mark and Andrea, passed away from a heart attack. Kyle was the well mannered, funny young man who watched our dogs while we were all out of town. We would often see him walking down the street where he would wave and frequently crack jokes to us. Our neighborhood will surely miss having this young man in our lives.
Here is the articlethat was published in the Arizona Republic and on AZ Central about Kyle ...
Mesa student shows courage until the end Friends, family remember teen
JJ Hensley The Arizona Republic Mar. 23, 2006 12:00 AM
James Kyle Winfrey's short life was about lessons, those he learned in his 15 years and those he imparted before he died early Tuesday morning.
Winfrey, a student at Rhodes Junior High, passed away at Children's Medical Center in Phoenix after a battle with restrictive cardiomyopathy that resulted in a lot of missed school, a heart transplant and, friends, teachers and family say, an example in how to live and die with dignity.
"Kyle played the hand he was dealt," his father, James, said. "He did one of the most courageous things anyone can do, anyone can go through. He never thought death was a possibility because he was so optimistic about his own well-being and the ability of the doctors and nurses."
Kyle, who friends called James, had good reason to be.
At 13, Kyle was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, which restricts blood flow to the heart. He was put on a donor list in 2004 and received a heart transplant 61 days later on Jan. 30, 2005.
What followed were a lifetime's worth of tests and medical appointments condensed into one year, but like everything, Winfrey said, Kyle took the outlook with a grin and a grain of salt.
"Even Monday morning, we talked, and he was still optimistic," Winfrey said. "He said, 'Man, they've got to get it fixed this time. They've got to get it right this time so I can play baseball.' "
As he waited for that day, Kyle took over the microphone at games, becoming a mini Harry Caray, announcing the players as they came up to bat.
But Kyle never made it back onto the diamond after doctors told the prospective second baseman that his condition would stop him from ever being another Joe Morgan. He came to that realization himself Monday when he was sitting in a hospital bed watching a baseball game.
"When he said that to me, it just broke my heart," Winfrey said.
Hours later, doctors and nurses were working feverishly to revive his son when he told them to stop doing CPR.
" 'You guys can stop now, I've already committed my son's soul to Christ,' " Winfrey recalled telling the hospital staff. "I knew. I could just tell he was gone."
"I don't know how else to say it: I'm a better person for knowing him," said Lisa Knapp, a Rhodes counselor who worked with Kyle to keep up on his schoolwork throughout the last 18 months. "The world was a better place with him and is a worse place without him."
Kyle's baseball coach, Jay Cryder, said he would remember the 15-year-old's zest for life and respect for others, and the contagious nature of Kyle's outlook. The school paid homage to that Wednesday morning when staff members aired a tape of Kyle performing at last fall's talent show at the end of announcements.
"Sure there are people that are mourning, but their mannerisms reflected what James wanted: Today is today and tomorrow is tomorrow," Cryder said. "I had 30 kids in my first-hour class laughing because of his video."
Through the funeral and memorial services, there will be more tears as adults and children mourn the loss of their friend, but Kyle's lessons and his legacy dictate that the laughter will return.
"Kyle's counselor used the word infectious," Winfrey said. "Kyle infected people with, I can honestly say, love."
