Chester and Dana
Howdy There! My name is
Chester. I am an American Quarter Horse and very proud of it! I
am 20 years old, but act like I'm 6!*S* I have lived with
Debbie's family for ten years now and am the only gelding
with two mares. And, boy they never let me forget it!
When I first met Debbie's daughter, Dana, she was so kind to me. My old owner gave me to her because he said I was crazy and he couldn't handle me! Well, when Dana rode me I had fun and she didn't hurt me so I was very good for her! We did so many fun things together. We rode in the Wilderness areas, went on the Pacific Crest Trail, rode on the beach in the moonlight and even did Team Penning! (The pic at the top is us on the PCT in the Mt. Thielsen Wilderness area. Now THAT was a beautiful trip!)
When Dana left for college in 1994 I got to go with her! She was taking Animal Science and Horse training classes so I even got to go to class with her. That winter Dana got real sick with Leukemia and we had to come home. She spent several months in the hospital in San Francisco and then in April they told her she was cured! We were all so happy! She started putting her life back together and we did another big trip on the PCT that summer. In October she went to visit her best friend in Montana and stayed for a whole month! I missed her but knew she was having a good time. That winter we didn't get to do much riding but were already making plans for next summer. Dana told me we had a job next summer as hosts at Quinn Meadows horse camp in Oregon and I thought that would be a great way to spend the summer!
But in March Dana started feeling bad again and the doctor told her the leukemia had relapsed. We were all devastated! But she never gave up! She went back to the hospital and got better again. We didn't get to host at the camp as planned that summer, but we at least got to do some more riding on the PCT. The doctors told Dana she needed to have a Bone Marrow Transplant so they found a donor and set a date in September to do it. But when she went in to have it they couldn't do it because the Leukemia was back again!
That is when Dana decided to just live the time she had left to the fullest! She was so strong and tough and in good spirits that everybody just knew she would be fine. She moved into a house with her fiancé and had a wonderful winter….(except for all the trips to San Francisco to the doctor!) She felt really good until the end of April when all of a sudden she got real weak and tired. The doctor said her kidneys were failing and there was nothing they could do and that she only had a few days to live.
Our house filled up with people and everyone came to see Dana. She was in good spirits through it all and kept telling everyone "don't worry…I will be fine". She told Debbie that she would be a butterfly and watch over her and someday meet her on top of the mountain.
Early in the morning on May 11, 1997 (Mother's Day and Donna's birthday) Dana died. All her family and friends were with her just like she wanted. A couple of days later we held her Memorial Service in the meadow at the Equestrian Staging Area where we rode all the time. It was a beautiful sunny day and the birds and butterflies were everywhere. We all knew that Dana was in heaven and watching over all of us and that someday we would all be together again.
Footnote - - In September 2001 I got to take Dana on one final ride. We took her ashes to Green Lakes where she wanted to be. It was a sad but happy time too, because now we know she will always be there when we visit.|
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Dana's Poem Don't grieve for me, When you wake to the sunrise, When you jet ski, When the horses perk up their ears, When you ride high in the mountains, And in the full moonlight, So please don't weep for me, By Debbie |
