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Vol. 42, No. 45
South Carolina
September 8, 2006
II
Jake Williams wins the bronze for the long jump at the National Transplant Games in
Louisville, Ky.
ByMimiM. Maddock Palmetto Health Baptist Hospi- He had one chemo treatment,
Mimi@TheColumbiaStar, com tal, he had one pint of blood left Don t your and the cancer was contained.
in his body. The team of doctors removed
Jake Williams gave away This happened again in h( [V1 l'lo Williams from the hospital in
the bronze medal he received at 2000 and again in 2001. The three days because he was so
the National Transplant Games doctors then sent him to the Heaven vulnerable to disease. Williams
to his donor family. University of North Carolina said that on December 21,
Itwas May, 1999.Williams where they put him on blood need them 2004, he was taken to Home-
had a little wine and felt sick. thinners and strapped him here, stead because he had contract-
It's the cabernet, he thought down for 85 hours for fear if he ed pneumonia. The pain was
Williams had a bit of watermel- moved he would bleed to death, unbearable. He couldn't sleep
on and felt sicker, lt's the water- His liver was eaten up with can- was near the top of the line for a and had to keep propped up
melon, he thought. When he cer. They put three stints in and liver transplant, with his back on the head-
went to the bathroom, this 300 built a Wall graph around hisAn organ'came available board.
pound plus man passed out liverto filter his blood.December 18, 2004, his late On December 27, 2006,
and feliinto the bathtub. In July 2004, he was very mother's birthday. Before the he went back to MUSC with
His varices, which is the near death and was sent to the surgery, his doctor and "best bleeding and 75 pounds of
portal vein that carries approxi- Medical University of South friend" Dr. Balgia said, "When excess fluid.
matelylS00 mL/min of blood Carolina (MUSC) in Char- we open you, if the cancer has On January 6, 2005, every-
from the small and large bowel, leston, S.C to await a liver spread, we will close you up, thing shut down. Vivian,
the spleen, the stomachtotransplant. His MELD (Model and you'll have about two Williams' wife, said when Jake's
the liver, had burst. He lost 78 for End-Stage Liver Disease) weeks to live.
pints of blood. When he got to score was higll. This meant heThe transplant went well. See lumping on page 3
t I
e
Co/umbJa Star is published every
Friday by The Stxr Reporter
Ctx~ra~ion. In~, ~t723 Queen St,
Columbia, SC 29~ Petkrficals paid
at C(lumbit. SC~ (LISPS 6~4-~2o)
~ Sead ~ddrtm
cha ~ ta Tire Columbia Star, P. O.
Box 59r6, Columbia, SC 2925o rid.
g0~-7~-o2a9
News 2, 3
Opinion 4
Commentary 5
Business 6, 7
Society 8, 9
Sports 10, 11
eCo/umb/a 803-771-0219
Every week Arthur R.
Thexton sends four or five
packages including
Co/umbta Starto troops
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Pictured is the 3rd
Brigade of the 2nd
Infantry Division out
from
Washington State. They
are stationed up north in
the Kurdish part of Iraq.
Contributed by
Arthur R. Thexton
Education 12
Events 13
Classified 14
David Gardner Weimortz with his moth-
er, Fran Fellers, and sister, Kelly
Weimortz
Contributed by Deloris Mungo, a friend of
Mrs. Fran Fellers, David's Mother
This world is a better place for each of us today
thanks to the life of Corporal David Gardner
Weimortz of Irmo, S.C. David was a fearless Marine,
but he was first a son to Mrs. Fran Fellers and Mr.
TerryWeimortz, a brother to Miss KellyWeimortz and
a friend to everyone he ever came into contact with.
This particular remembrance of David is dedi-
cated to his Mother, Fran Weimortz Fellers, my dear
friend These past few weeks have been the worst of
times for any mother, but the outpouring o f love from
her friends and family have held her up and let her
loved ones know what a legacy of life David left.
David was certainly a man's man, but he was definite-
ly a mother's son. The choices that David made were
clearly his own, and he was very proud of them and
of what a difference he was making in this world by
helping secure freedom for the Iraqis.
David, by all tccounts, always did it his way, no
matter what age he was or what he was doing.
Serving his third deployment to Iraq, he died in a
roadside bomb attack on August 26 in Anbar
province He was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd
Marine Regiment Division at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He
was a lance corporal, even though he was a college
graduate. He wanted to jump right in and not take
the time to go to Officer's Candidate School - he felt
that he was needed right then.
Trappings and titles were not'important to him,
but making a difference was. Once his frustrated
mother asked him why he was so intent on being a
Marine when there were so many people even in our
own country who just didn't care these soldiers are
out there for them. Why wouldn't he please just stay
home? David replied, "Morn, I'm out there for the
good people too, and that also means that I am out
there for you."
David felt like the hope in Iraq is in the chil-
dren. He said, "The kids are really what make it
worthwhile. It is our goal, our desire, they come in as
well adjusted, well educated persons and want to
have a democratic society. Hopefully, that will be
infectious and spread." David was proud to say, "I got
everything I wanted out of the Marine Corps. I have
no regrets." Very sadly, David's candle of life was
extinguished far too soon. But the light that he shined
on the people he loved in his path will always burn
brightly.
David was always playing sports as a child, and
his first word was "ball." David was a graduate of
Dutch Fork High School and graduated as a golf
standout. He then went to the University of South
Carolina where he graduated as a history major in
2000. After college, he worked for a publisher in
Raleigh and modeled products at NASCAR races
before enlisting. He joined the Marines in March
2003 and graduated from boot camp at Parris Island.
His next step was to enter law school when he
returned from military duty.
His e terior was huge, 6% and 225 pounds of all
man and muscle - but his interior was always think-
ing of the other person and what he could do to make
him or her smile or make their life better. This gentle
warrior of a man visited two sisters (friends of his in
California) for a few days; and after he left, he wrote
thank you notes to each of them including one to
Simon the Cat thanking him for sharing his bed (aka
the floor!).
All of his local teachers have shared that their
classrooms would not have been nearly as "exciting"
without the wit, charm, and amazing harmless but
funny antics of this brilliant young man. The Marines
have lost an unbelievable soldier; Todd Gayle, Jason
Flynn, and Miles Solomon
See Irmo on page 3
Funnies/Public Notices 15
Public Notices I6, 17
Travel 18