Dallas "Little Man" Shields III
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On February 27, 1984 Dallas O'nealy Shields III was born to Dallas Shields Jr and Debbie Mills. He was their second child and only son and by all accounts, perfect. It wasn't long till they noticed that he wasn't the healthiest baby around and soon they discovered he had something called Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is a genetically passed ailment that causes mucus, the substance lining the lungs and digestive track, to be unusually thick and sticky. It ends up clogging up these organs and eventually ruins them. Because of the effect it has on the digestive system many afflicted with CF have trouble digesting their food and tend to grow slower than other kids. Our Dallas was always small for his age and this is why we nick-named him "Little Man" or "Little Dallas". Little Man may not have been very big in stature but his heart was huge. He was full of love and had strength, courage, and enough fight to do ten armies. If you are a Christian you should take comfort in knowing that he took Jesus as his savior early on and he never lost faith. His song to his loved ones was Randy Travis' I am Going. Little Man seemed to live life on a cycle. He would battle his way to health and try to enjoy life, like you and I, for a while. Then he would get an infection or just get worse and go in the hospital and battle his way back to health and so on and so on. There were many times when we would hear, "oh man he is so bad he just isn't going to make it this time", and he would always fight back. In the late summer 2004 the last bout came. He developed congestive heart failure and his lungs were worse than ever. Members of his family would make late night trips from 100 miles away to UK Medical Center to see him. Though his suffering was unimaginable, he never failed to offer a spoonful of his sharp wit and share a moment of laughter with those around him. There was no end to the fight in his heart, but his body just didn't have anything left. He died early Wednesday September 1, in a room full of family and friends. To say his family will miss him scarcesly does justice to the void he left in our lives. We love you Little Man. |