Guys, this is a local guy that's been fighting terminal cancer for a while now. Our daughters played basketball together, & his current goal is to live to see his oldest graduate in May. Here's some of his story, and how his fellow guardsmen reached out to him recently. Thought I'd share it with y'all.



Of Soldiers and Saints


Louisiana Guard helps one of its own realize football dream

By 2nd Lt. Alex Juan

159th Fighter Wing Deputy Public Affairs Officer

WALKER, La. - Saints fans knew that the road to the Super Bowl victory
would
go through the New Orleans Superdome, but for one Guard family, an
incredible
gift helped them “be in that number.”

In July 2009, Sgt. 1st Class Peter L. Turnage, a member of the
Louisiana
Counter Drug Task Force, was diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma, a stage IV
bone
cancer. Since then, the cancer has spread into almost every bone in his
body.

Master Sgt. Dean W. Davis, Joint Forces Headquarters operations
sergeant, has
known the Turnage family for 20 years and was moved by a statement made
by
Turnage, planting the seed that helped this dream flourish.

“I was at Pete’s house one Sunday watching the Saints game, and he
was
telling me that the simple things in life were starting to get to
him,” said
Davis. “Things like never being able to take his son to a Saints
game.”

“That statement would enter my mind every time I played with my
little girl
or would watch a football game,” said Davis.

Davis relayed this to Command Sgt. Maj. John Kling III, of the LANG’s
199th
Regional Training Institute.

Kling immediately replied, “Dean, what’s the problem? Let’s make
this
happen!”

Turnage has an incurable type of cancer and only two percent of all
cancer
patients are diagnosed with this type. The lesions that he has
developed
attack the bones like termites attack a house, according to his wife,
Noel.

His symptoms began with what felt like a pulled chest or back muscle
and was
misdiagnosed for months, losing almost 37 pounds.

“People need to know that you have to ask questions to get
answers,” said
Turnage, who has agreed to be a guest speaker and get the word out for
a
Joint Army/Air National Guard Bone Marrow Drive tentatively scheduled
in
March.

Mission focused, Davis expressed Pete’s wishes to several Soldiers,
helping
to make this black and gold dream a reality.

Sgt. 1st Class Thomas E. Bryson, Recruiting and Retention
Non-Commissioned
Officer, said, “I really felt that giving my all to make this happen
for Pete
and Eli was the right thing to do…as a friend and an NCO.”

Not only did Turnage and his son Eli go to the Saints vs. Cardinals
football
game on Jan. 16, but this joint-effort led to the ultimate sports
fan’s day
including a Saints limo-ride that picked them up at their home in
Walker,
La., two 50-yard-line game tickets and field passes.

“Just watching Eli smile and having a good time…it’s something
I’ll never
forget,” said Turnage.

When asked to describe his favorite part of the game, 7-year-old Eli
replied,
“The flea flicker,” referencing one of the trick plays made during
the game.

“Considering Pete’s condition, I figured the least we could do was
to try and
make this happen for him and his family,” said Sgt. 1st Class Tony
Icamina,
Recruiting and Retention Non-Commissioned Officer.

“This helped remind me that we are not alone,” said Noel. “There
are other
people that are on our side, and they are trying to squeeze a lifetime
of
memories in for us.”

“If this brought just a little happiness and some memories, then we
did our
job,” said Icamina.

“Sgt. 1st Class Turnage has given his life to the Guard,” said
Bryson. “That
being said, I hope that the good times that Pete and Eli had on that
rainy
Saturday will last forever.”

Noel said that since Pete’s diagnosis, over 500 meals have been
delivered to
them by friends and family. “The City of Walker and the military
have just
wrapped their arms around us,” she said.

“That’s the beauty of the Louisiana National Guard,” said Davis.
“The LANG is
a family away from your family, and Soldiers care and do for others
before
themselves.”

The Turnage’s are eternally grateful for all of the cards, money, and
phone
calls; however, they are especially thankful of how protective and
present
the Guardsmen have been for their family.

Noel and Pete Turnage have been married since March 2, 1991. They have
three
children: Mary, 17, Hannah, 14 and Eli, 7.

“I know that the days that lay ahead will be hard for the Turnage
family, and
I hope they know that if they need anything at all we [Guard] are only
a
phone call away,” said Bryson.

“We are simply embracing a family member in time of need,” said
Davis of the
Guard’s involvement.

“We’ve never been forgotten or pushed to the side,” said Sgt. 1st
Class
Turnage when referencing the Guard.

“So many days would just not be bearable without the Guard’s
support.”

I like this story. Prayers to the Family.