Our boy, our soldier, our Rowan..."our little trooper" (as we called him from just days old), was listed in the TAPS section of the Winter 2017 edition of the official publication: National Guard Association of Texas News.
Let that sink in. He died at just 10 years old. He was sick his entire life. He wanted to be in the Army so bad. But even if Rowan had survived transplant...even if he had grown to be of age, he would never have met the medical requirements. He would have never made it into to military. The Texas National Guard made it happen anyway though...they made his dreams come true.
If you have followed his story, then you already know that Rowan dreamed of being in the military since he was a small boy, maybe 3 or 4 years old. Thanks to the help of one of the hospital CNAs, David Hixon, a National Guard reservist at the time, that dream came true. In a surprise ceremony, Rowan was inducted as an honorary member, into the Texas Army National Guard, at Camp Mabry in Austin, in March 2015, when he was just 8 years old. He told the room full of fellow cavalrymen that it was "the best day of his entire life".
The Guard embraced Rowan as a brother from day one. He was so proud to be among them.
The Texas National Guard rallied around Rowan even more a year or so later, as he prepared to leave for his bone marrow transplant in Seattle, and then, when things took a turn for the worse for Rowan, and he started the entire transplant process over again (after the first one failed), the Texas Guard reached out to the Washington National Guard, who also stepped up. They visited us weekly in the hospital, brought him many special mementos, and prayed bedside over Rowan with our family when he lay in a coma in ICU for days on end. Rowan may have been unconscious for most of their visits, but our family was still filled with immense comfort by their presence, and their support was something we can never truly repay.
Our family holds the military in very high regard. Rowan has never walked past a serviceman or woman in uniform without breaking away from me instantly, telling me "wait a second Mom". Then he would run over to them, reach his hand out, nod, and say "thank you for your service". This was engrained in him well before he ever considered himself a member of the military himself. It is just how Brian and I have always raised our children. But Rowan, Rowan took it more seriously than most...his face would light up, and there was no stopping him. Even if they were eating, or with their family, and I would try to stop him from interrupting them...Rowan HAD to go thank them.
So, even though we received this NGAT News publication late (it was mailed to a different address), the timing of it, I believe is just as perfect as everything else that surrounds Rowan. I have been struggling with missing him...struggling with the separation...struggling with the "why did he have to die". But the timeliness of this magazine, the weight of how monumental it is to our family, and the impact we know it would have on Rowan, reminds me of what Pastor Lisa spoke of at his memorial service:
"Instead of asking why did he have to die, ask why did he live...and then you have ALL the answers!"
It's true! Who gets to experience the things that Rowan did? Who has the impact that Rowan did on this world? Who's dreams are realized in such fantastic ways, even after their death? Who continues to impact the people who knew and loved him, so positively? His life had GREAT meaning. Even if it was only for 10 years, we KNOW why he lived!
Thank you Texas National Guard, Washington National Guard, National Guard Association of Texas NEWS, and many others, for making Rowan's life dreams come true, but more over, for making him proud to be among you, to be one of you! Thank you for your service, and thank you for making Rowan's dreams come true in his short 10 years of life.
God bless you all.
The Windham Family:
Brian, Carrie, Zoe, Ian & Rowan
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