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April 2, 2009 - By Tishiana Mann
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"Dodgers suck," Reid said every afternoon as he wheeled himself through the doorway into fifth period Spanish. Reid was not a fan of the Dodgers but as everyone knows, his Spanish teacher Mr. Martinez was. The whole class would laugh each day as Mr. Martinez sat at his desk in front of a wall enshrouded with Dodger posters. "Mr. Martinez QUOTE about Reid's humor"
"Reid was a cool guy. He was a good friend. We talked every day," freshman Cameron Durant said. "He was funny. He made everyone laugh and he always had a smile on his face," freshman Stephanie Tagaloa said.
Reid was a fourteen-year-old freshman this year perhaps best characterized by his wit and intelligence. "We knew Reid would only have a few years to live. And there's a freedom in that. He packed so much in life," his grandfather Michael Jones said. "He still had so much he wanted to do. He wanted to be a professor. He loved history. But I can also easily see him becoming a writer for Saturday Night Live. He had an awesome, awesome sense of humor.″
"His whole perception of things was through observing and taking it all in from a distance," his father Bill Barnes said. "He had a lot of medical treatments the whole time but he didn't let that stop him. He probably had done more in his years at [University Middle School] and North than most students even attempt. He excelled in classes, extracurricular, friends, I mean, he never stopped … he packed sixty or seventy years of life into about fifteen."
At Uni Reid was in charge of the morning announcements. He continued to be very involved when he reached North. He joined Concert Choir and won his election for Midwinter freshman squire this past January.
"When he came home that day after the Midwinter assembly, he told me, 'Dad, I really don't care if I win. I just had the best day of my life,'" Bill said. "He was so excited about having these two beautiful girls [seniors Katie Gonzales and Alicea Thomas] walk him down the aisle during the assembly. He said when everyone in the gym clapped so hard for him he felt like he was on top of the world."
Reid was an expert on military and war history. He loved video games, had read all of the Harry Potter books and was a fan of the Starwars saga. "He wrote stories. Whether it was another sequel to Harry Potter or another Starwars adventure, his creativity and imagination was just amazing," his grandmother Frances Barnes-Salyer said. "He was an intelligent and nice, well-rounded kid," campus aide (Pamela Watkins) said. "He was probably one of the smartest people I've ever met," confirmed campus security officer (name).
"Reid never complained. It was never 'poor me' it was always 'I can do this and I'm gonna do it the best way I know how,'" Barnes-Salyer said. Reid had a medical condition called Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). It is a disorder characterized by rapidly-worsening muscle weakness that starts in the legs and pelvis and later affects the whole body until death occurs. Most people born with DMD have only 25 years to live. Medical researchers have not yet found a cure.
Due to his disorder Reid often came in and out of the health office and sometimes left early to go home. "The day before he passed away Reid came in and he said he wasn't feeling well," campus health clerk Monica Sandoval said. "But when he left that day, he left as if he knew he was gonna be gone soon because the way he told me … he said, 'OK, Miss Monica. Thank you for everything.' Kind of like he was saying goodbye at that time. It just wasn't casual. And sure enough he passed the next morning."
"Reid was getting ready to go to school the morning he died. He had a test in history and had spent some time studying for it. He was determined to take this test. But when we took him out of bed we noticed he was looking a little pale," Barnes-Salyer said.
Before the ambulance arrived to his home Reid had already died in his father's arms. Doctors tried everything they could to resuscitate him but Reid was confirmed dead at Riverside Community Hospital ten days shy of his fifteenth birthday.
"He knew what his ultimate fate would be. He knew he was going to have a short life," Jones said. "But fourteen years old was unexpected. He had much more that he wanted to do in this world."
On Wednesday, March 18 funeral services were held at the Grove Community Church where many people from the community came to mourn and celebrate his memory. As photographs of his childhood flashed across the screen during a slideshow, Reid's family, friends and teachers watched with tearful eyes. Burial services were held at Olivewood Cemetery.
"I believe Reid is free from the chains of his wheelchair now and I envision him running in an open meadow where there is no pain or suffering. He was an inspiration to me and, I think, to his peers...I enjoyed getting to know him. He was a special kid," Bill Cooper, Reid's math teacher said.
"They say he looked up to me because I was his older brother. But I looked up to him. He was my hero. He was my role model. He was the bravest person I've ever met. He never let anything get him down. He made the best of what he had and lived his life to the fullest," his brother Ryan Barnes said.
Barnes-Salyer said, "Reid is still with us. Whenever you start to feel weak, draw strength from him because Reid was very strong."
"We're lucky to have known him," Sandoval said. "When these kids come in here and complain about a back pain or a stomach ache, my thoughts go to Reid and I just want to say to these kids, 'Put your life into perspective and think. What are you complaining about?'"
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