Saturday, February 2, 2008

   Duncan's Story...sorry for the sucky music




•°o.O♥ Meaghun & Duncan Crookston♥O.o°•



•°o.O♥ O.o°•



Here is a letter that his mother sent out to us to better tell you about the battle that Duncan fought, written the day of his passing.


Dear Friends and Family,
It is with great sadness I write to you today - Duncan passed away at 3:346 p.m. today after the decision was made to stop heroic measures. Duncan developed another infection over the past two days, the effects of which were causing him a great deal of pain and causing him to run a fever of 108* F overnight. The doctor who treated Duncan said he had never heard of anyone surviving such a high fever, and that normally the body did not allow itself to sustain such a high temperature for even 15 minutes, let alone the 2 hours Duncan suffered with it.

The doctor said it was an indication the hypothalamus of the brain, which regulates body temperature, was damaged. He also advised us even though Duncan survived, he would have permanent and widespread brain damage that would eventually cause his organ systems to fail, and that his kidneys were already dialysis dependent, and he was quickly becoming ventilator dependent. Meaghun and I were asked to make a decision, and we chose to allow Duncan to die a dignified and peaceful death, so he was given a morphine drip and taken off the ventilator. He died about 45 minutes later surrounded by his beautiful wife, his mother, his battle buddy Joe Mixson and the hospital chaplain he had come to know during his stay.

It is the closest thing to a "good death" one could ask for a young man who fought so hard and long, only to have the limits of his body betray him. Once we knew there was no chance of any sort of quality of life, we felt we could not ask this brave young man who lived life to its fullest to spend his remaining days hooked to machines with no chance of recovery.Words cannot express the gratitude we feel towards all those who offered support and prayer to Duncan and our families during the past 5 months. We can take away from this experience the knowledge that good people exist in this world, that evil is worth fighting or that reason, and Duncan was a proud example of a good person who did not stand by and allow it to flourish by doing nothing. Duncan would have been 20 years old tomorrow - he will be forever 19 now, and forever missed.

Love, Lee Crookston





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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) today released the following statement on Private First Class Duncan C. Crookston, who died late last week from complications resulting from injuries sustained in Iraq:

“Private First Class Duncan C. Crookston served his country with great honor and distinction. It is a tragedy when someone with such a bright future loses their life so young. His service to our country is greatly appreciated by Coloradoans and Americans nationwide.

“I want to personally thank his family and extend my heartfelt condolences to them for their loss.”
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Duncan will be missed but Never Forgotten.
♥




His funeral will be held this Saturday @ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

2710 S. Monaco Parkway (yale and monaco)

Service @ 11am

Burial @ Fort Logan

...:Come pay your respects to a fallen hero, friend and classmate. All is welcome:...












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sorry. I'm sad for Duncan and Meaghun...and their families. It's weird to think that someone I went to school with is gone forever in the flesh, though not in spirit or memory.

Duncan and Meaghun's story is so sweet. They dated from 10th grade, or so, and were so nice for each other. It's not fair. Death is fair, but Duncan's life was just beginning. He made the choice to join the army, but...it's so sad. it's really sad.

he died the day before he turned 20, too. Sorry. This is just sad. Since I can't go to his funeral, I'm posting this to maybe pass on his memory. thank you!
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