A Peaceful ending

Dustin Lewis Bowman passed away peacefully on Sept. 15, at 5:06am. He had been found as a code blue on Friday which apparently triggered seizures which never really stopped despite anti-seizure drugs at amounts they had never used. They put him in a medical coma as well trying to get the brain to rest but it never seemed to stop.

He gave a good hard fight in the end as he has done his whole life but especially the past year. Not really ever complaining about the paralysis, but wanting to use that creative mind to write he has instead written something profound in our hearts. Mostly we didn't see it ,but with his passing ,we realized how much his quirky personality and love to "get a line" for use in possible writing had written deeply in the tablets of our heart.

You can't even imagine how much this occurred until we saw doctors, therapists, aides, etc spending time with us, laughing, crying, talking about how Dustin had effected them. Who would have thought when we would hear Dustin's disgruntles with staff , his rough words in their direction etc that even then, they loved him for his real heart below which they experienced for the past 7 months. They knew under those layers of crustiness that there was a lot of fun, trying to see if he could get a rise out of them for a possible movie line or to challenge them to see if they would stand up to him which he greatly admired.

With his passing, we will continue to carry the vision to help those with spinal cord injuries live a in a home environment with some unique physical therapy at Step it Up. We have named the home we had bought for Dustin, "Creative Footage". Yep, somewhat a weird name but very descriptive. Dustin was all about creating stories and his beloved film career that never quite got to get started despite graduating from Fullsail University. It was a little less than a year ago as he was traveling to Los Angeles that he had his car wreck that put a hold on his career. instead he created "footage" in his life at the Neurotrauma unit in Albequerque, Augusta VA and finally at the polytrauma unit at the Tampa VA. Of course "footage" also is our hope for those with spinal injuries to get up and walk in their own very special way.

We want to salute everyone on the medical team that has gone above and beyond to give Dustin the best care. Tampa VA has won a special place in my heart with their care for our Veterans. There is a sign when you go in the front door that says "The price of freedom is visible here". I have never seen such people with a heart to serve these men and women and a heart to continue their knowledge in how to best care for these soldiers.

They will be doing a complete medical exam from the time he entered in to the Air Force to early this morning. The combined effects of a spinal cord injury, brain injury and the resulting seizures is a very new phenomenon in how to care for it. They are consistently trying to learn from each and every medical opportunity and we are grateful that Dustin's passing will be learned from to help others. Many of our soldiers coming back from the war have these kind of injuries and much needs to be understood of the synergistic effects of these issues.


Rick and I want to thank you for each and every prayer. Don't every think for one minute that God did not hear them. Do remember however His plans and ways are higher than ours. Do not think for one minute that I understand His plan, only trust Him in all things. If you think about it, Dustin's abbreviated life has changed us all in some profound way. I only ask that you look at what that might have been.


For me, it has been a horrifically wonderful year. Without the past year, I don't think I would have ever learned to trust and lean on God like never before... I mean really trust Him no matter what. I also learned to give up so much control, never knowing what the next thing would be and how fast it would come and I would have to respond. For that I am grateful. I learned to love my son on a deeper way as a mother, something that was hard in the early young years of my life overcoming addictions and the pain of my own life. I will always be forever grateful for the 24 and almost 26 years of life with my two sons. Would I have liked to have way more years? Absolutely! But then they were a gift from God from the very beginning, they were His children before He allowed me to have them. I am grateful that God saw something in me to bless me with these 2 very unique creations.


Forrest and Dustin I will miss you forever! I look forward to playing with you for eternity. You are good sons. I love you, I am glad you were born, I am so proud of you.

Dustin Lewis Bowman 3-26-85 to 9-15-09
Forrest Lee Bowman 12-26-82 to 9-21-08