Luke Michael Hadley Tribute

Luke Michael Hadley
HADLEY LUKE MICHAEL
Luke Michael Hadley passed away at home on Thursday, October 30, 2008, in the loving arms of his parents, after a lifelong battle with the effects of his chromosome disorder. He was two years old. His gentle smile could melt the hearts of those around him and though he never spoke a word, his voice and thoughts could always be heard. Although Luke's illness made his body weak, Luke possessed unmatched strength, perseverance and bravery. Luke is survived by his parents, Jeffrey and Kara Hadley of Indiana Township; his maternal grandparents, Kathleen and David Cornett of Indiana Township; his paternal grandparents, Richard and Mary Jane Hadley of Cranberry Township; 2 great- grandmothers; many wonderful (great) aunts, (great) uncles and (2nd) cousins. The family would like to extend their warmest thanks to Luke's pediatrician, Dr. Leslie Soloshatz, and friend Peg Cordaro, who both provided 24-hour daily support. Luke's love extends to the entire community who reached out with open arms to support the Hadley family during his illness. He will be dearly missed by all of his family, friends and caring nurses. The Family will receive friends on Sunday, November 2nd, at WEDDELL-AJAK FUNERAL HOME 100 Center Avenue Aspinwall from 2 pm to 6 pm. Liturgy of the Word will be held at 10 A.M. Monday, November 3rd in Saint Scholastica R.C. Church 309 Brilliant Avenue, Aspinwall. Everyone please meet at the Church. Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, the Hadley family asks that donations be sent to: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, 1251 Waterfront Place, Floor 5, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Please note on the check that the donation is in honor of Luke Hadley.
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From the day he was born, Luke was a fighter. Anyone who has followed his story on CaringBridge knows this. I want this site to be a place where we can all write to him and let him know how much we miss and love him. I no longer have to write about his daily struggles and no one has to be sad when they read how his day went. We all know that his days are full of smiles and sunshine. He is romping around in the clouds and swinging on those swings. He is flying around like a bumblebee and living on in our hearts. Until we meet again, this will be our journal.

HISTORY: Luke was born prematurely at 34 weeks. He needed full resuscitation and compressions at birth and was diagnosed at 2 weeks of age with Ring 14 Chromosome Disorder. He had a mosaic condition, meaning that some of his cells had Ring 14, and some had Monosomy 14. What happened was a fluke, in the early stages of development. We had our chromosomes checked and we are both fine. The doctors told us that Ring 14 was extremely rare- Luke was one of 40 documented cases, so there was not much they could tell us about the condition. He wrote the book himself. He had many struggles in his two years, and his body got tired and he passed away at 26 months old. It was the greatest 2 years of my life.