Lincoln Lewis Wheatley, son of Zachary & Kelly Wheatley, was born into this world on October 24, 2008. Unfortunately, and without anyone's knowledge, he was also born with Gaucher's Disease. At about 2 to 3 months of age, Lincoln began to exhibit the start of classical clinical symptoms related to the disease...however, the early symptoms are often common problems, such as cough and cold, poor weight gain, stiffness, etc. Thus, doctors rarely look to something as serious as this disease and for good reason. Hence, this is a primary issue with early diagnosis. With Lincoln, it wasn't until his little weight gain and chronic breathing issues became too much that doctors started to look at other possibilities. Of course, Lincoln was smiling and happy the whole time, not a care in the world. Every doctor visit, every hospital stay...he was a trooper. At approx. 7 to 8 months of age and after an extended hospital stay, when doctors noticed an enlarging  liver and spleen, it was determined that Lincoln may have Gaucher's disease. Although very rare, Gaucher's is part of the larger family of genetic "storage disorders" (closely related to Tay-Sach's, etc.). Of course, Lincoln's parents along with all the doctors, were devastated by the news.

On July 13, 2009, Lincoln passed away in his Mom and Dad's arms...very peaceful and quite happy. Although his life was cut short, his time here was very special. He was always happy and his parents know he is smiling down on them right now.