#CarterStrong

In December of 2011, Jamie Thomas and her boyfriend Carter Haines were two, very much in love, college freshmen. Haines had just entered Kennesaw State University that fall, Thomas was at Shorter on an academic and softball scholarship, and most weekends were spent driving to visit one another. During their first college Christmas break the couple went on a trip to Missouri with the Thomas family during which Carter had a seizure. By March of 2012, doctors knew for sure that Carter had an inoperable brain tumor. It was February of 2013 when the Haines family laid Carter to rest and his late girlfriend Jamie was left to grieve the loss of her boyfriend and best friend.

"I never really thought 'why me?' but instead thought 'why not me?'," Jamie Thomas said of her attitude when they found out about Carter's tumor. "The doctors told us people with a tumor like his typically have six months to live, and we were lucky to have more time than that."

It was September when Carter began to lose his memory which Thomas said made it easier to stay positive because it was almost as if he forgot he was sick. "We never once talked about what would happen if he didn't get better," Thomas said. "Now that I think about it, I kind of wish we would have, but I'm glad he never thought about it or had the chance to be afraid."

Thomas said that most days with Carter were very good, even after he got sick. She spent most days at his house and said as she laughed, "we ate a whole lot, the steroids made Carter hungry all the time."

"Carter never forgot who I was though, and we would spend a lot of time singing, especially after he lost his vision," Thomas said. "'You Are My Fire' by the Backstreet Boys was a personal favorite of ours because Carter remembered all the lyrics." Jamie said every now and then he would get stuck on repeating one thing, and most recently his phrase of choice was, "Marry me?." Thomas said in their minds, and to their families they were already married. The couple celebrated their two year anniversary with a big family dinner and exchanging of gifts before Carter passed, and Jamie cherishes the memory as well as the quilt she had made for him with photos of themselves stitched into it.

Carter Haines has had a clear impact on KSU and the community. "He always had a way of bringing people together," Thomas said. In April, months after his passing, the Kennesaw community came together to dedicate this year's Relay For Life and its Luminary Ceremony to Carter Haines.

"Carter joined the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity in the fall when he started school at Kennesaw, those guys barely knew me but were there to support us throughout everything and have since ran in countless races in Carter's honor and raised a lot of money for brain tumor research," Thomas said.

Moving forward, Jamie is excited to apply to KSU's nursing program, and hopes to someday work for the Aflac Center for Brain & Blood Disorders in Atlanta. "I spent a lot of time there with Carter while he was getting treatment, and the staff and environment were wonderful," Thomas said. "I hope to take part in helping people like they helped us."