It’s hard to believe Trey met Jesus 10 years ago July 5. There have been so many changes (good and bad) in the last 10 years of this grief journey. God has truly ministered to us with comfort, new friends, and sweet reminders that this is not our home. We WILL see Trey again.
I had someone ask me if we were going to do something since “10” is a big number. To be honest, I had not given much thought. The days of spending July 5 with his friends have come and gone. That is not a bad thing! They now have sweet families of their own and know the love a parent has for a child.
I want to get to the point. Trey always wanted to give back when he is was ill. He had a servant’s heart. I tell people one of the few times he got upset was after he talked with Peyton Manning. He asked me why he didn’t call another St. Jude patient. At the time, we tried to make things happen but it just didn’t work out.
It wasn’t until I attended a bereaved parents retreat about a month ago that I came up with the idea after talking to many parents. What was Trey’s trademark? POLO! I put Polo hats on him from the time he was a baby and he kept with the love of those hats in all colors! Sometimes he wore them facing forward and sometimes to the back…but he always had his yellow Polo hat. I still have all his hats except for a few I gave to his close friends after he died. One particular, I remember going to St. Jude to take his hunter green Polo hat to Kristina Hunsucker who was fiercely battling cancer at the time. She was a friend of Trey’s and I just thought having one of his hats would comfort her. She did lose her hair during treatment and I know it was special for her to have one of his hats.
Fortunately, Trey did not lose a lot of his hair during his treatments. I think God knew he could not handle that part of his journey. But there are many children who do! So, I want to purchase as many Polo hats as I can to give back in memory of Trey’s faith, courage, and bravery during his cancer battle.
This is how you can help. If you feel led, please donate a dollar or $5 to help me purchase at least 13 hats. I’m in Pigeon Forge, TN for a mini vacation and I want to start buying them now at the outlet. As they always say, no amount is too small. You will be a part of giving back to a child in need of a smile during a very dark time.
You can Venmo me at Lisa-Erwin-6 and I will keep a list of his “loving friends and family” to put on a letter that will accompany the hat telling of his journey. If you do not have Venmo and want to help, just send me a message and we will honor that commitment. This is just another way to keep Trey’s memory alive and at the same time, help a child. Trey would totally do this.
If I have tagged you in this blog, please do not feel obligated. It’s just a way of spreading the word that we ARE still considering “all things joy” while continuing to walk this grief journey together. We don’t have sponsors or the #prayfortrey fund (that went to Collierville High School for his scholarship).
I hope this will give you a warm feeling of doing something to honor our sweet boy’s 10th year with Jesus. If you are not able to give, I would love, LOVE to receive any memory you might have of how his journey made an impact on you as I am putting together several Shutterfly books of his journey.
Thank you to all those who STILL love us well until we see him again!
“Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when encountering various trials, for you know the testing of your faith produces endurance.” James 1:2-3
P.S. Please excuse any typo or grammar errors! I did this on my phone!
living the life of christ 
I sit here this morning reading your blog again and do not think I have ever commented. Even though I do not know you personally and do not even really remember who I knew that would have started me on this journey with you, it has helped me many times in the last ten years. 7 years ago, I lost my Mama after a significant time of health battles and a debilitating stroke, 6 years ago this week same with my Dad. Yesterday I buried my Aunt who became a Mom to me as she was my Mother’s sister. My husband has an elevated PSA and is having a biopsy next week. Through all of those major life events for me and some less major, your blog always came at the right time with the right words to encourage me in some way. You have had a lot on your plate for the last 10+ years and it has been my privilege to share just a little portion of that journey and your Faith through it. It was my honor to make a small donation for Polo’s for the children of St. Jude. Thank you for continuing to give and let Trey’s legacy live on!
With love,
Tammy Inman
Jackson, Tennessee
Tammy, I’m sorry I did not reply. My messages were hidden from me! I am so sorry for your struggles also. Thank you for the small donation. Know that we are all here on this earth to survive together until we see Jesus. Keep strong!
It was no coincidence that TODAY you responded to a comment I left you in June, 2022. I had not expected a response so it surprised me today to see that you commented that you did not see my comment until recently. I had to go back and see what it was I wrote to you about at that time. Among other things, I made mention that my husband had just found out he had an elevated PSA. He went on to have surgery for Prostate Cancer in Sept. 2022 and all had been well until Sept. when his PSA was once again very elevated! Today we sat in Radiation Oncologist office to hear words like “Stage 4” and it was “treatable but not curable” so it has been a tough day and then I saw your email. Even though the news we received was not what was expected and he is facing Chemo instead of Radiation, we know that God is in control and has the ultimate statement on stage and status of his cancer. We have a great host of friends and family intervening on his behalf and will face whatever the future holds together after being married for 46 years. Thanks for your encouragement through the years and for writing back on this very day when God knew I needed it! Continued prayers for you and your family.
Tammy Inman
Tammy – how is your husband?
My husband is doing great! As an answered prayer, he did not have to do any chemo either. He is doing hormone therapy which is both an injection and pill by mouth. His PSA was 66 in Sept., down to 33 after one week on therapy and in Jan, it was .1! Praising the Lord everyday as he deals with hot flashes (and I try to be sympathetic), but has no other major side effects. He has been busy reconstructing the deck in the back yard for the last week and other than being sore as a 68 old year man who hasn’t done a lot of physical labor recently, he has been fine. He goes back next week for a recheck and we are hoping it has remained there. There were problems with insurance and they did not approve the first med he was on using samples, so we are apprehensive that this one is working as well. He had a bladder surgery after his diagnosis which was a game changer from the prostate surgery last year.
Thank you for asking! Prayers that all is well with your family.
Tammy
Such a beautiful way to honor Trey. Love this and you guys SO much!! 🐎 ❤️