AUTUMN BREEZE

     "On March 25, 1981, my wife Sharon and I were blessed with our first child. A beautiful little girl we named Autumn Leigh. She was such a joy; we were so proud. After a year or so we noticed that she had a very good appetite but was not gaining weight and thriving very well. We took her to our physician, he ran a full battery of tests and found nothing wrong. He then sent us to Vanderbilt Hospital to have her tested for Cystic Fibrosis. It came back positive. We were devastated as any family would have been.

     Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disease affecting mostly the lungs and digestive systems of the body. We were immediately directed to LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis to see specialist Dr. David Orenstein. He told us she had a life expectancy of about 15 years at that time.

We immediately went to work performing postural drainage therapy 3 times a day. Adding enzymes to her food at every meal. Checking her vitals on a regular basis. We made regular trips to Memphis every 4 to six months for checkups. The first few years were relatively normal, then pseudomonas kicked in attacking her lungs and digestive systems, producing thick mucus that was hard for her body to clear, causing heavy congestion and constant infections. She was on antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, feeding tubes, intravenous ports, as well as experimental treatments. At one point she was on about 50 pills daily. Hospital stays for intravenous treatment became much more frequent! Finally, after 16 1/2 years, her little body gave in on September 24, 1997, and she went to Heaven to be with the Lord.

     Even through all of this, she was such a wonderfully free-spirited child. She was always happy, kept a beautiful smile on her face, and if you ask how she felt she would give you her signature, “I’m fine “answer. Always upbeat even in the toughest of times. She loved Disney World, and Rusty Wallace! One of her favorite things was for She and I to go to the night race at Bristol, she would ride my back to and from the track. Every piece of clothing would be number 2! We would badger each other as Rusty and my favorite, Mark Martin, would battle for the win. 

     So, when the developer approached us with the idea to name this development after her, we were excited, honored, and overwhelmed. My 3 siblings graciously agreed to the naming also. We chose “Breeze” to represent the fact that breathing had been such a struggle for her throughout her life, but now it was gentle and easy. We hope that each homeowner here can, and will feel the legacy of the development, and that there’s something special about investing in a home in “Autumn Breeze"."

Thanks, Gary and Sharon Bennett