Parents to accept son's degree
by Lindsay Sandham
The Metropolitan
(Photo by William Moore- The Metropolitan)
Sarah Barnett and her husband Larry are emotional as they accept an award on behalf of their son Carlos Gibson April 4 in the Tivoli. Gibson, who had Muscular Dystrophy, died in December shortly after completing his finals. The Carlos Gibson Award will be given by the communications department at UCD to honor one student every year who has had an effect on the faculty.
Doctors told him he would not live past the age of 20. He was determined to prove them wrong, and he did. UCD student Carlos Gibson was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the worst form of MD, at around age seven or eight.
MD is a degenerative, hereditary disease that slowly weakens the muscles of the affected person throughout their life. It starts in the legs and works its way up, until it eventually reaches the lungs and the heart.
The majority of people with MD do not live past the age of 20. People do not die from the disease itself, but rather complications from it.
Gibson began occasional use of a wheelchair at age 10, but as his condition worsened, he was finally confined to a wheelchair full-time.
Gibson was a communications major who was scheduled to graduate this spring. He was 32 when he died.
"He is not missed, he will always be here," said Robert Ferguson, a UCD student and friend of Gibson's.
Ferguson said two or three weeks before the end of the Fall semester, Gibson became quite ill with pneumonia.
"He had the determination to go to school and finish that paper," said Larry Barnett, Gibson's father. Gibson died Dec. 14, just days after he completed his final paper for a class.
"You could see in his eyes that he was ready to go anytime," Ferguson said. "He was having problems sleeping. He told me he was scared to go to sleep, that he wouldn't wake up."
Barnett and his wife Sarah, Gibson's mother, accepted an award April 8 in their son's name.
The faculty in the UCD Communications department came up with the idea for an award months before Gibson's death.
The idea was to establish an annual award and each year the department would honor the student who taught their teachers the most.
The first award was to go to Gibson, but since he passed away, the decision was made to name the award in honor of him.
Communications department chair Brenda Allen said every year the award will go to the student who has taught their professors to be civil, humane and committed to learning.
UCD communications professor Mike Monsour presented the Barnetts with the award. He said he was honored to speak about Gibson and the award.
"We learn more, or as much from our students as they do from us," Monsour said. "We need to formally acknowledge that."
He added, "Carlos taught me a lot about how to deal with people. Not people in wheelchairs, just people."
Monsour also said Gibson taught him humility and that sometimes professors need to let students do the teaching.
Keith Stiles, a UCD student and friend of Gibson's, said there was a joy in talking to him, that it was always a pleasure.
"The thing about Carlos is that even in his situation, he wasn't bitter," Stiles said.
Vince Phason, a Metro student who is also in a wheelchair, was a good friend of Gibson's. Phason is a Buddhist, as was Gibson, so they knew each other outside of school and were very close friends.
"There were days I'd be down, and Carlos would cheer me up," Phason said. "There were times I'd do the same for him."
Barnett said their family does not practice Buddhism; it was something Gibson chose to do on his own. He said he thinks Gibson found peace in his religion and that he believed karma gives you good things in the afterlife.
"Because of his Buddhist practices and the causes he contributed to throughout his life, his good fortune will carry on in the next life," Phason said.
Perhaps it was Gibson's Buddhist mindset of eternal life that lived on in his computer after he passed away.
Ferguson works in the Combined Computer Access Center, a computer lab for students with disabilities, and he said after Gibson died, the computer he always used would not turn off.
He said anytime he would move the mouse or hit any keys, the computer would freeze up; and if he actually got the computer to turn off, it would re-start on its own.
"He was letting us know he was still here," Ferguson said.
Monsour said Gibson wanted to enjoy life, but in the process he wanted to achieve some goals. One of those goals was graduating from college.
Barnett said the Communications department is honoring Gibson's graduation, and that he will accept his son's degree.
"Carlos may have left permanently," Monsour said. "But he will always be in our hearts. We loved Carlos." |
