Three deaths in the community

[Dustin]

Today was a sad news day here in the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities. First, on the evening news, I heard that a young man named Travis Hearn had passed away. Travis was a junior running back for the Rock Island (Illinois) High School Rocks, and on September 22, 2006, he was paralyzed in a freak accident during a game. The community poured out support for this young man and his family, and last year, Habitat for Humanity, along with several corporate sponsors, built a fully-accessible house for them in just one day. Last month, he was admitted to the hospital and had surgery on his lungs. He passed away at 5:35 pm, December 4, 2008. I believe he was 19.

After I watched the news, I got online, and noticed a story on the local newspaper's website. The local zoo has a few "star attractions". These include the elephants and the two white-handed gibbons. Both of these enclosures are very near the entrance to the zoo, and the gibbon habitat was just built three years ago, and it is magnificent. The female gibbon, Judy, at age 46, was the oldest white-handed gibbon in captivity. On November 9, the zoo had her euthanised to end her suffering from end-stage renal failure. Her companion of 25 years, 33-year-old Tarzan, died suddenly a few weeks later, quite possibly because of the stress of losing his longtime companion.

So, when you say your prayers, pray for comfort for Travis's family and teammates, the employees at the zoo, and this entire community. Many people cared for Travis, and many people, especially children, got years of enjoyment from the two gibbons.

Godspeed, Travis. You can walk and run with no problems now.

If there's a special place in God's heaven for animals, I hope there's room for two little creatures that gave so much pleasure to so many people for so many years. Rest well, Judy and Tarzan.

[lordwriothsley]

Dustin my heart goes out to your community for the many deaths that just recently occurred.Travis,his family,his teammates and coaches and his entire school are in my thoughts and prayers along with the employee's at the local for the loss of their two "star Attractions."