|
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - A terminally ill soldier and his family
received a lot more help than they could have imagined on moving day
after a large response to a post on a well-known social media
networking site.
After being contacted by someone close to
the family, U.S Army W.T.F! Moments took action by posting a message
to their Facebook audience of more than 328,000 people.
“BREAK, BREAK, BREAK - FT BRAGG people, a wounded brother is need of
assistance!” - This message was all it took for approximately 100
soldiers, retirees, and civilians to show up to help a fellow
soldier Sept. 27, at a home in Fayetteville, N.C.
Cars
filled the streets as people arrived, ready to help the Petrie
family move from their large rental home, to a smaller home they
recently purchased.
Volunteers from the Fayetteville, N.C., community form a line,
holding boxes of household goods they unloaded from a self-storage
container to help Chief Warrant Officer 5 Charles Petrie, an Army
officer who has given almost 30 years to his country and is now
terminally ill, and his family move into their new home. Petrie was
diagnosed with sarcoma in his sinus – one of the rarest forms of
cancer and in the rarest place, according to his wife, Terri.
Despite multiple, large radiation treatments that shrank the tumor,
the cancer is growing again. After being contacted by someone close
to the family, U.S Army W.T.F! Moments took action by posting a
message to their Facebook audience of more than 328,000 people.
Approximately 100 soldiers, retirees, and civilians showed up to
help a fellow soldier in need, Sept. 27, 2013 at a home in
Fayetteville, N.C. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Amie J. McMillan, 10th
Press Camp Headquarters) |
“I received at least 55 texts and about 30 to 40 phone
calls right after the message was posted to their page,”
Sgt. 1st Class Nakischa Adams, platoon sergeant, Warrior
Transition Battalion. “There was such an overwhelming
response from people who wanted to help in one way or
another that I actually had to turn some away.”
Chief
Warrant Officer 5 Charles Petrie, who has honorably served
the United States Army for almost 30 years, was given an
estimated two months to live by doctors back in September
2012. He was diagnosed with sarcoma in his sinus, which is
one of the rarest forms of cancer and in the rarest place,
according to his wife, Terri.
Despite his
odds, Petrie is still spending quality time with his family.
However, his recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
revealed that his cancer is growing again and there is
nothing else the doctors can do.
“We really have had
a lot of peace throughout this whole thing. The support has
been amazing,” said Terri Petrie, wife of Charles Petrie.
“There were times when it was just 24/7, when Chuck was
so bad and in hospice. Everybody else made sure my kid got
to school and made sure the dogs got let out. I think that
was the hardest part, but it wasn't that hard because of all
the support,” she added.
Charles and Terri Petrie
have been married for 25 years and are the parents of three
children: Matt, 24, who is a first lieutenant in the Indiana
Army National Guard, Emily, 23, who is a recent graduate of
Baptist Bible College, and Benjamin, 18, who is currently a
senior in high school.
“He's a chief who has almost
30 years in and was a pilot. I don't know how he reacted
when everyone showed up, but you can tell he really
appreciated it,” said Kendra Hartwick, wife of an Air Force
retiree and member of the North Carolina Patriot Guard
Riders. “I think about how blessed we are and how honored we
are to help him out right now. Whenever we see a need, we
try and help out.”
“My daughter texted me ‘Dad's all
choked up,' and I'm like, I know, I already have one cry in
there. It's just amazing, people helping people,” said
Terri.
Through all of the obstacles Petrie has faced
in the last year, his attitude remains positive as he
prepares his family for what is ahead.
“If you're not
servicing your family first, then you're not going to be
much good to anyone else,” said Charles Petrie.
“Through all of the medical things he's going through right
now, he still has a very open, happy, positive outlook on
life. He's keeping the quality of life as normal as possible
in a time where it's chaotic,” said Adams.
“What more
could you say about a person that is concerned about others
when it's his time to worry about him?” she added.
“I
think that's the hardest thing, trying to figure out how to
put your life together and keep it going when everything's
really falling apart. But with all the support and all that
the WTB has done for us, without that, it would've been
impossible,” said Terri.
“Out of this, I'd say this
is the biggest thing, people have to help people. When all
goes to hell in a hand basket, that's the only thing that
keeps you sane, really,” Terri added.
By U.S. Army Sgt. Amie J. McMillan
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
Comment on this article |
