Biography

Louis Henry Lange,III
“Trey”
April 6, 1988 December 19, 2003

Million Times
A million times we've needed you,
A million times we've cried.
If love alone could've saved you,
You never would have died.
In life we loved you dearly,
In death we love you still.
In our hearts you hold a place,
No one else will ever fill.
It broke our hearts to lose you,
But you didn't go alone.
Part of us went with you,
The day God called you home.



Trey was 6'2", dark complexion,a very handsome young man full of personality. He had a way of making people smile wherever he went. He never met a stranger, he would talk to anybody. This worried me when he was a young child. He just loved to talk and that’s what he did most of the time, talk. He never shut up! He could ask a hundred questions about the simplest thing. I laugh as type this, because he was so funny. Talk about comical, that was Trey. He loved to imitate clips from movies that he thought to be funny. His favorite actors were Jim Carey, Adam Sandler, Jackie Chan, and Spongebob Squarepants. I loved to give him a hard time about some of the music he listened to. Now I listen to some of it just to bring back a memory or two, or three. Trey was a very caring boy who loved kids. He enjoyed mud ridding on the 4-wheeler and his dirt bike. He was looking forward to getting his drivers licenses when he turned sixteen, which was also the age he could start dating.

Trey was an obedient child, never a problem…well except for the six months of colic. He made good grades in school and he loved to play sports, but had problems with his ankles. It didn’t stop him from trying that’s for sure. He played little league football for six years, starting at the age of six. He played on a little league basketball team at the age of eight, he played middle school basketball in the eighth grade, and this was his first year on the high school basketball team. Football was his favorite, but the school he attended didn’t have a team. You could always find him playing Madden Football on the play station. During football season he and his dad talked nothing but football. His favorite NFL team was Dallas, and his favorite college team was who else but LSU. He was looking forward to the Sugar Bowl. He was so proud of his home team.

The day it all changed

Wednesday Dec. 17.

Everything had started out normal. I got the kids up for school; it was mid-terms so they were getting out of school early that day and Thursday would be the last day of school for the Christmas Holidays. I wasn’t home when they returned from school, so when I did get home Jessica had said Trey wasn’t feeling well so he went to bed. I cooked supper and later went in to check on him and he was running a fever of 103, he said he had a bad headache and his neck felt stiff, but he still stayed that day for basketball practice. He said his whole body just ached, so I gave him some Theraflu and went back an hour later to check on him and his fever had dropped, but he still complained with his neck. Now, just a week earlier a student at a local college had died of Meningitis. So I decided to take him to an After Hours Clinic that was near by. He needed to get better he had exams the next day. So off we went, I told the Dr. my concerns and gave him all of the symptoms that he had. The Dr. tested him for Flu, Mono, and Strep. All came back negative. He said he didn’t feel that it was Meningitis because his neck wasn’t that stiff to him and his fever was gone. So he said he thought he was the early stages of flu. Gave him a Cortisone shot and a prescription of Tami flu and sent us home.

Thursday December 18

I got up that morning to get the kids up for school. I hear Trey calling me from his room. He is moaning like he has bad stomach pains. He said he had gotten up during the night and almost fell going to the bathroom. I told him maybe he would feel better if he ate something since he didn’t eat the night before. I go to the kitchen, as I fixing scrambled eggs and toast; he gets up and goes to the recliner in the living room. We are talking back and forth as I cook and he says his legs feel numb, and his hands. So as I cook I’m trying to decide if I should go to the ER, or just let him stay home and rest. I bring his breakfast to him and he is sitting in the dark, and his face looked dirty. I turned on the light and he had purple spots all over his face and I pulled up his shirt and they were all over his chest. I told him to get up and get dressed were going to the ER. He dressed himself but didn’t have the strength to put his shoes on. All the way to the hospital he begged me to stop and get him some water, but I wouldn’t. He kept moaning and I told him to stop he was scaring me. He said he just couldn’t get comfortable. He just laid his head on my shoulder. We arrived at the ER at about 7:15. We were able to park close, so I went around to his side of the vehicle and he said he didn’t think he could walk so I told him to just lean on me and I would help him. He went to the first chair he saw. They called us to the back and took his temperature, but it wouldn’t register. The nurse got another thermometer and it wouldn’t work. Another nurse is tapping the screen on her machine that was to get his blood pressure and pulse but it wasn’t working either. They then came with a wheelchair and took him to a room where two Dr’s were waiting. They couldn’t get his IV started; Trey hates needles and he wasn’t bothered with all of the sticks. That’s when I wanted to know what was going on. Dr. said some kind of infection wasn’t sure what at the time. They made me leave the room and a nurse starts talking to me about Meningitis. They had to put him on a respirator. They couldn’t stop his bleeding from all of the needle sticks. They finally got the IV in to start the antibiotics. When we were able to see him Dr. said he had Meningococcal Meningitis, and gave him a 20% chance. The Dr. told us if he pulled through he would more that likely lose both legs and possibly arms at the elbow. His legs and arms were purple and ice cold.

Friday Dec. 19

My husband and I went in to see him at 4:30am that morning. No change, I knew then that we were going to lose him. I could feel it. 7:15 am they call us to PICU and we ran in and turned the corner and they were pounding on his chest. They got him back, Dr. says this was the end we had to say goodbye. We stood at his side holding his hand. 7:58 am Trey went to Heaven.


I am thankful for a lot of things. I am thankful that he never went into a coma. The Dr. kept him sedated so he would be in no pain. He would come out of it on his own and sometime Thursday he was awake and understood what we were saying to him. He was trying to open his eyes but they were so swollen he couldn't. We told him he was very sick and that he had nearly his whole class and then some there praying for him. We told him he needed to say his own prayers and when we asked if he understood he nodded yes. I even think he tried to tell his dad that he loved him too. I’m thankful that his sister, Jessica and brother, Yancy was able to talk to him too. I am thankful for all of the support we received from the school and friends and family. The LSU Basketball team visited the hospital and left him a signed basketball. We opened his eyes for him so he could see it. The hospital hallway was packed with kids and no complaints from anyone. I am thankful that the Dr. understood the need for other family members to visit him. I am thankful that Trey knew Jesus Christ as his personal savior.

At first I felt that none of our prayers were answered. I couldn’t understand why Trey wasn’t worthy of a miracle. I would have taken care of him, I just wanted him! Then I got to thinking about when we told him to say his prayers. If he could hear us then he could hear the Dr. Maybe God answered Trey’s prayers. Trey, would not have wanted to live without his full body. He couldn’t handle it. Back in March 2003, he stepped on a nail and ended up in the hospital for five days. He was fighting a bacteria in the joint of his toe, if the infection got to the bone he would have lost his foot. He had to go home with a pic line in his arm and I had to administer antibiotics through an IV for six weeks every twelve hours, then followed that with eight weeks of antibiotics by mouth. This really upset him, just the thought of losing a foot. There is no way he could handle both legs and arms. I truly believe God knew what he was doing, and one day I will understand why he chose to take Trey so soon. Trey will be my forever angel.
MOM


LANGE III, LOUIS H. "TREY"

A student at Starkey Academy and resident of Central, he died Friday, Dec. 19, 2003, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. He was 15. Visiting at Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 Florida Blvd., from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Visiting at the funeral home chapel from 8 a.m. until religious service at 10 a.m. Monday, conducted by Brother Jonathan Samuel. Interment will follow in Greenoaks Memorial Park. Survived by parents, Louis Lange Jr. and Racheal Lange of Central; grandparents, Ann Mott of Richton, Miss., and Joyce and Louis Lange Sr. of Walker; a sister, Jessica Lange of Central; and a brother, Yancy Lange of Central. Preceded in death by his grandfather, Ray "Jack" Mott. Friends and teammates will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers are the Starkey Academy Spartans. He loved hunting, fishing, sports and riding his dirt bike. Please visit Trey's memorial website at www.mem.com.