Emily 2: Changing the Rules

By Jeremy Wells and Emily Wells

What would you do to bring hope to your dying son or daughter afflicted with leukemia? Would you permit your son or daughter to experience life while facing their expected death?

Emily was twelve when diagnosed with leukemia. She met seventeen year old Jeremy who would become her anchor to give her strength when she was weak; to give her hope when she felt all was lost; and to give her unqualified love and support to hold onto when she was lost, frightened or simply unable to do for herself. Emily wanted to experience life before she faced her own death. Emilys mother reluctantly allowed her to secretly marry Jeremy before God and in her presence since underage marriage was forbidden by society. Emilys story was told in the book titled Emily. Emily brought hope to young cancer patients who simply want to experience life before facing their probable death.

This book chronicles Emily and Jeremys fight to change the rules and allow qualifying sick children to marry and experience life before facing death. Emily states, Is that really so much to ask? Child Welfare says, Yes it is. Underage girls can marry if they are pregnant, but underage sick and dying children should never be permitted to marry unless the cancer patient gets pregnant. See who prevails in this battle to bring life and dignity to young cancer patients who just want to live, even if living is but a moment in time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Aug 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490743677

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Who Is Emily?

E mily is the only child of Martin and Carol Sims. Emily was born on June 23, 1983, with soft brown hair and piercing green eyes. Emily’s father was a successful cardiologist, and her mother was a registered nurse studying and working toward becoming a nurse practitioner. In light of her parents’ medical careers, Emily’s grandmother provided primary care for her first four years of life. Grandma Amy was a nurse, but equally skilled at educating Emily in her early years. By age four, Emily could read and write, add and subtract, and write stories of things that interested a very bright four-year-old. Emily was as tenacious as she was intelligent.

Emily was four years old when she faced the first of many crises in her life. At age four, Grandma Amy announced that she was moving to a retirement center in Florida. Emily heard her grandmother say that she was moving, so Emily quietly went to her bedroom and packed her suitcase, declaring to her parents, If Grandma Amy is leaving, then I am going with her. Grandma Amy had been instrumental in raising Emily, and she cried out, Bye, Grandma as she left Emily’s home for the last time.

Emily’s parents had to decide who would watch and educate Emily now that Grandma Amy was gone from her life. Neither Martin nor Carol wanted to forego their present careers to become a stay-at-home parent. The decision was to employ a nanny for Emily. The nanny needed to have a teaching certificate and ability to live in Emily’s home. After extensive interviews, Carol settled on a young teacher whose name was Chrissy. Chrissy did an excellent job teaching Emily, but she failed in one very important rule concerning Emily. Emily needed to wear leggings at all times so her panties were covered and her young virtue protected from the eyes of perverts. Carol trusted few people around Emily. One afternoon, Carol returned home early and observed Chrissy with her boyfriend sitting on the sofa while Emily knelt at the coffee table doing her schoolwork. When Emily stood up to greet her mother, she displayed her panties and was not wearing leggings, as was the clothing order for every day. Chrissy explained how Emily had fallen and got her leggings dirty. Chrissy did not feel that Emily would need her leggings inside the home. Carol was enraged because she truly believed that Chrissy’s friend, Steve, had looked at Emily’s panties as she stood up. Chrissy was outraged at Carol’s suggestion and terminated her employment as Emily’s teacher and primary caregiver. Emily failed to understand all that had happened, but accepted her mother’s decision. That evening, Carol and Martin agreed that Carol would provide Emily’s primary care and home education until she started kindergarten. That decision was fine with Emily. She loved her mother and enjoyed being with her mother regardless of the purpose.

Carol arranged for a short-term leave of absence from her nursing position and assumed her new role as primary care provider for Emily. Carol quickly learned how tenacious Emily could be. Carol decided to take Emily to the park to play as Grandma Amy had done numerous times. Carol handed Emily two pairs of pants and directed Emily to wear one of the two pairs of pants and then come downstairs for breakfast. Emily slowly crept down the stairs looking for her mother. Carol observed that Emily had put on her dress and tights, but Carol demanded Emily wear pants at the park. Carol insisted that it was not young lady-like to climb on monkey bars in a dress with leggings. Emily conceded and wore the pants, at least until she had the opportunity to remove her pants when her mother was not looking at her. Carol observed what appeared to be a young girl climbing the monkey bars in her panties. It did not take long for Carol to recognize that the little girl was Emily. Carol was outraged at Emily and ordered her to put her pants back on. As Carol assisted Emily, she observed two male park employees looking at Emily as she was putting her pants back on. Carol tried to block the view of Emily dressing, but knew that the men had already seen too much of her daughter. Carol hurried Emily into the car and left for home. At home, Carol confined Emily to her bedroom, which was fine with her. She quickly changed back into a dress and leggings and threw both pairs of pants out of her bedroom window, declaring, I don’t wear pants! After that, Emily wore dresses with appropriate leggings.

In kindergarten, Emily tested at a third-grade academic level and was already taller than most third-grade students. The school headmaster refused to permit Emily to enroll into the third grade, so Emily’s kindergarten teacher individualized an educational program just for Emily, and she loved the learning challenge that school provided for her.

One morning, while Emily was working on an assignment, a boy named Michael pulled Emily’s horsetail. Emily turned around in her chair and warned Michael that if he pulled her hair again, she would punch his lights out. The next day Michael pulled her hair once again. Emily stood up quietly, and before Michael could appreciate what was going to happen to him, Emily slugged him in the mouth, knocking him to the floor in tears and with a bloody lip. Emily looked down at Michael and said, I told you what I would do if you pulled my hair again, and I did it. Don’t pull my hair again.

Emily’s father died in an automobile collision when she was seven years old. Martin’s death elevated Carol’s need to protect Emily from all forms of perceived harm. Carol’s overprotective behavior affected Emily in numerous ways, from insisting that she drive Emily to and from school to Carol holding Emily tightly when Carol thought about Martin and all the unachieved opportunities during their marriage. Emily felt smothered by her mother.

Carol and Emily moved to another state to get a fresh start. As they moved into their new home, Emily’s natural curiosity led her to try the new type of toilet that her mother called a bidet. Although Carol instructed Emily to not use the bidet, Emily had to try it. When Emily screamed and laughed, Carol asked Emily if she liked her bidet. Emily replied, I’m not going to do that again. Carol said, Good! Next time, you might listen to your mother.

CHAPTER 2

Emily’s Leukemia

E mily was diagnosed with childhood leukemia at age twelve. The diagnosis terrified Carol. Early treatment brought Emily into remission, but later she relapsed several times with the cancer spreading further into her body. Emily had reached the point in her treatment that she required a bone marrow donor or she would die. Emily’s only family was her mother and Grandma Amy. Neither of their marrow samples could be used as a marrow donation for Emily. Carol could not face the loss of her only child, so she listened to Emily and enrolled in a mental health treatment program designed to help cope with the daily realities of cancer, treatment modalities, and even death. From the counseling, Carol understood that she needed to keep Emily focused on her treatment and nothing else. As Dr. Gary had indicated early on, Emily’s attitude is a significant part of realizing a cure. Carol set out purposefully to shield Emily from any distractions and kept her singularly focused on her medical treatments to the exclusion of everything else life offered.

Carol could not accept leaving Emily at home while she attended counseling. Carol arranged for Emily to sit in the visitors’ center while Carol attended a two-hour counseling session on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Carol’s counseling objective was to learn to cope with Emily’s illness and give Emily encouragement so she maintained a positive attitude.

This is where I came into Emily’s young life. My name is Jeremy. At the time I first met Emily, I was seventeen years old and she was twelve. My parents died in a small plane crash, and I had lived with my aunt since I was eight years old. I graduated from high school with honors when I was seventeen, and my aunt helped me to become emancipated and helped with rent and tuition for my first year of college. As a graduation present, my aunt purchased tickets for me, and my best friend to visit Mexico. I was proud to have a foreign country stamp on my passport. I moved in with some friends, and we attended the local community college. To help with expenses, I worked in the mental health center’s visitors’ center. I was in my first year of college when Emily changed the direction of my life forever.

I vividly remember seeing Emily when I entered the visitors’ center. She was beautiful as she sat in my overstuffed chair with her long legs hanging over the side of the chair. I observed her and believed that she was at minimum fifteen or sixteen years old. She was also tall, with my estimate being five feet nine inches. I was surprised to learn that Emily was twelve years old. She did not look like a twelve-year-old, and she most certainly did not talk like one. Emily was bright and articulate. Emily’s most stunning feature, other than her overall beauty, was her piercing green eyes that seemed to sparkle as she looked at me. I could not stop looking at her eyes. As we talked, I learned that Emily was taking college prep or advanced placement courses at her high school and she loved to learn.

Emily and I came to know each other quite well over a ten-week period. Our friendship evolved into a loving and supportive relationship. Emily had explained to me that she wanted to experience life before facing her death. I told Emily, I understood, when she completed her thought and said, I want to experience life with you, Jeremy. I trust you, and I find comfort when I am with you. I learned to love Emily unconditionally, and she expressed her love for me, and her desire to marry me. I had promised to marry Emily, if possible, and together we held strong to our love and bond.

Emily and Carol received word from Emily’s oncologist that no donors had been found and time for Emily was running short. Dr. Gary gave Emily less than one month to live without a marrow transplant. Even with a transplant, Emily’s chances of survival were less than 25 percent. I did all I could do to support Emily, including numerous prayers seeking God’s intervention into Emily’s life.

I volunteered to help Emily and Carol send out donor information sheets to all the oncology centers worldwide seeking a suitable donor for Emily. Unlike today, back then, medical information was not shared on the Internet for confidentiality reasons and snail mail was the only method of communication. Approximately 20 percent of the centers had fax machines, and for those facilities, we faxed information when requested. Carol acknowledged Dr. Gary’s comment that the likelihood of finding a donor in the short time Emily had left was near 0 percent. Carol seemed to have given up and fell back on what she learned and believed, which was to exclude everyone from Emily’s treatments so she had no distractions.

Carol understood that I loved Emily and she loved me. Carol threatened me if I did not stay out of Emily’s life. In response, Emily gave up on her treatments and no longer cared if she died. Emily told her mother that without me in her life, there was no reason for her to live. Emily was prepared to die loving me as she did. I prayed for Emily and her mother dozens of times every day. All I could offer Emily was hope through faith in God and trust in me that I would not let her go. I promised to be her anchor and hold her tightly as she faced her cancer.

Emily was near death when Carol broke and called me to be with Emily. Carol explained to me that Emily was near death, had not eaten in a week, and did not care if she died. In fact, Emily made known to everyone that she wanted to die. I approached Emily’s plastic tent and softly spoke her name. Emily saw it was me and her green eyes sparkled once again. She wanted to know if her mother knew I was there, and I reassured her that her mother had called me. More importantly, she gave me permission to love you and for you to return my love. Emily and I held our hands together on each side of the plastic wall separating us. I professed my continuing love for Emily, and she reminded me of my promise to marry her. After five days of visiting Emily, she improved and was discharged to her home. Carol invited me to their home to discuss where our unusual relationship was going. What Carol did understand was that Emily needed me, and apparently so did Carol.

When I arrived, we had a family kitchen table meeting where Carol acknowledged Emily’s desire to experience life while she could, knowing that she was facing the certainty of death if a donor could not be found. In our meeting, Carol asked Emily what she wanted if a donor was not found.

Emily said, You mean if I am going to die?

Carol said, Yes. Emily had one specific request. She explained to her mother that she wanted to marry me and I had agreed to marry her. To Emily, whether she lived forever, or died tomorrow, she wanted to be married to me. I gave her hope and confidence for her future. When I held her, she could close her eyes and briefly forget about her cancer.

Carol recognized that Emily’s time was limited and there was little left for her or Dr. Gary to do without a marrow donor. Carol reluctantly agreed to permit Emily and me to marry before God and in her presence. Both Emily and I were grateful to her mother, but equally disappointed by a system of laws that denied us the ability to become legally married given Emily’s special health circumstances. We secretly married; and our marriage bond, prayer, love of God, and our love for each other helped Emily to cope with her cancer and ultimately be healed. Emily and I thank God regularly for her salvation and our binding love for each other.

CHAPTER 3

Present-day Background

E mily and I have been in love and married since she was twelve. We just celebrated our nineteenth wedding anniversary. Our twins, Eric and Carolyn, are now eleven years old with Emily Ann being six years old. All our children are academically brilliant like Emily. Eric and Carolyn are in the process of completing every precollege course offered by the private school they attended. According to our children, they will finish the course work by the end of the school year. Instead of keeping our children in a program of repetitive boredom, we had our children take the GED pretest as Emily did at age fourteen.

Eric and Carolyn passed the pretest and then took the uniform GED examination when they turned twelve. Eric scored in the ninety-second percentile for the nation, and Carolyn scored in the ninety-sixth percentile. At that point, we started Eric and Carolyn at the university. Eric and Carolyn are currently in their second semester of their first year and have complained that their college class work is also boring. Both Eric and Carolyn pulled a 4.0 GPA for their first semester.

Emily and I set up a meeting with a college counselor. We wanted to see which classes our children could challenge for credit, thereby avoiding more boredom.

As for Emily Ann, at seven years old, she is chronologically moving into the second grade; but like her sister and brother, she is already studying precollege classwork and has asked to take the GED when she turns ten years old. Emily Ann did her own research and found that the absolute earliest one can take the GED pretest is ten. Until that happens, Emily Ann is attending classes with juniors and seniors. Emily and I are concerned that Emily Ann may become bored and lose her motivation to learn. However, Emily Ann says that she does not get bored because she is always helping her classmates understand the assignments. Like my Emily, Emily Ann has been given many names, including the little teacher and little professor. Emily Ann’s favorite is still Brainiac, which is what her mother was called in school. Emily Ann does not mind the names because the students she helps appreciate her knowledge and willingness to help.

In Emily Ann’s spare time, she reads and studies the GED preparation booklets provided for the pretest program, and Eric and Carolyn regularly quiz her. Emily Ann tells everyone that she will be ready for the GED when I am ten. She has even warned her sister and brother to watch out because she is going to catch up with them. Instead of a sibling fight, both Eric and Carolyn encouraged their younger sister to go for it. The loving rivalry in our home is all positive and motivating.

One afternoon, Emily Ann announced that she had two years and eight months until she was ten. I smiled and acknowledged her upcoming birthday. She replied, It’s not my birthday that I am looking forward to. I will be ready to take the GED pretest then. I asked Emily Ann to remember to take time and enjoy life too. She smiled, just like her mother. She twisted her head and said, I do. I love my life, and I love learning.

At this point in our lives, our family library had run out of shelf space, and we had to figure out what to do next. We had accumulated three thousand nine hundred and seven books. As the father of my children, I am so proud of them and how well they are doing in school. I thank God daily that they are healthy, kind, and intelligent like their mother. If I could imagine a perfect mother, it would be Emily. I have loved her every day of our lives together, and I can never thank God enough for Emily.

Emily and I kept the appointment with the college counselor. She commented that our children were doing very well given their age and asked how she could help us. Emily explained that our children were bored with their first-year college classes.

Emily asked, Is there a method for our children to challenge the basic core classes, usually numbered 100 and 200 level? They believe that the introductory courses are repetitive and teach subject matter that they knew before entering college.

The counselor replied, It is possible to challenge courses, if approved by the department chairs. She then went on explaining how college classes build upon each level of instruction and that it could adversely affect our children if they jump a course without fully learning the subject matter.

I shared our background and the fact that Emily had her master’s degree when she was nineteen years old. We know our children’s abilities.

The counselor then said, I understand.

Emily replied, Good, because our seven-year-old is taking the GED when she turns ten and will then enter the university. She is also a brilliant student.

Emily and I scheduled appointments with the various department heads. There was no mention of having our children with us. We pleaded our children’s case during the first appointment. The professor asked why our children were not in attendance. I apologized for the misunderstanding, and we rescheduled his appointment.

We arrived with our children for the next appointment. The professor was the head of the physical sciences division of the college. He listened to our request to challenge the lower-level course work and then replied, I often get request like this, only to have the child fail the upper course or drop out of college altogether. I am concerned with what you are asking me to do for your children.

I asked him to consider the request because our children were bored with their classes. The professor then handed Eric and Carolyn the final exam for the second year of chemistry and asked them to take the test in the other room. Eric was sent to one exam room, and Caroline was sent to another. The professor said, You have fifty-five minutes to complete the test. Depending on how well you both do, I will make my decision.

Carolyn returned to the room in twenty-four minutes, and the professor asked her if she had a question.

Carolyn replied, No, I’m done with the test. Three minutes later, Eric entered the room and announced that he was done too. The professor graded the test. Carolyn received a 98 percent, and Eric received a 96 percent. The professor granted both Eric and Carolyn pass status for 100 and 200 level chemistry classes.

Our next appointment was with the math department. The chair asked Eric and Carolyn what their academic goals were. Eric announced that he would become a pediatrician. Carolyn announced that she would become a pediatric oncologist. She mentioned, My mother almost died from childhood leukemia, and I want to help children like my mother to overcome their cancer. The professor indicated that our childrens’ chosen fields would require a good understanding of math principles.

Eric explained that he and his sister had completed the full calculus program in their high school and would like to challenge the math courses at the college.

The professor agreed to give our children a series of math tests from algebra through calculus, but first wanted to give an oral quiz on math terms to determine the strength of our children’s knowledge. Eric was asked to define a basic function as x approaches a fixed constant. Carolyn was then asked to explain the differentiation of trigonometric functions and inverse trigonometric functions. Eric was then asked to explain in integral calculus the application of exponential functions and trigonometric functions. Carolyn was then asked to explain integration of rational functions and the net effect on logarithmic and inverse tangents. When our children successfully responded to the oral questions, the professor handed them the final exam for differential calculus.

Once again, our children were separated to complete their tests. The professor gave them three hours to finish the exam. Eric returned in one hour and forty minutes followed by Carolyn at two hours and three minutes. The professor was very pleased to announce that Eric received a 96 percent and Carolyn received a 94 percent. The professor looked at me and Emily and said, You have extremely remarkable children. Their undergraduate math courses were all granted with pass grades.

Our next appointment was with the biology department of the college. Once again, our children were questioned orally by the professor. Eric received a question about cell and molecular biology while Carolyn was asked questions concerning microbiology. Numerous questions were asked about cells and how the cell is structured. Once again, the professor was pleased with our children’s apparent knowledge, but he believed that much of biology is learned through classroom instruction and laboratory work. The professor offered to grant a pass to our children for their first-year biology courses and two second-year courses. The rest