Linda Trammell Talks about Her Son

Ms. Linda Trammell is pictured here.

   I don’t talk very much about my son because it brings back too many memories I don’t like to deal with.

His name was Randall Brian Trammell. His daddy’s name was Randall Kenneth Trammell. Kenneth said they go by your first name in the Army, so they called out his name “Randall Trammell.” He thought that was funny, because it rhymed. 

We called our son “Randy.” And “Sweet Baby.” He was such a joy, so sweet, and a special baby from the day he was born. He was blond-headed with blue eyes. He was quiet and always so good. You could just tell him “No, no,” and he wouldn’t do whatever he was into. He loved to get in the kitchen and take out pots and pans and play with them, which all children like to do. 

My mother-in-law, Ruby, and my father-in-law, J.W., and my sister-in-law, Vivian, all loved him and liked to keep him overnight.

And I can see him now, at the table. He would sit there, eating corn-on-the-cob, and he would just be smiling. It was so sweet. 

We lived next door to Ken’s grandparents and Aunt Imogene. His Aunt Lula and Aunt Brinie lived down the road, so we saw them every day. They all loved him and we loved them. They all had flowers in the yard. And Randy loved flowers. He would go up to and smell them, but he never destroyed them. He was not a destructive child. 

When he was about 11 months old, a small red place came under his eye. He was learning to walk, so we thought he had bumped it somehow and that was what had caused it. 

The red place went away.

I made sure I watched him. He had to be wherever I was to make sure he didn’t hurt himself anymore. 

But that red place came back.

I knew he hadn’t hurt it. He was teething and didn’t feel well. We took him to the doctor, and he knew immediately what was wrong. He told Ken, but they didn’t tell me. As a mother, I was a basket case. Ken kept it from me.

We had to take Randy to the General Hospital the next day. They found he had a mass of malignant tumors around his right kidney that was neuroblastoma carcinoma — cancer. He was operated on and had one kidney removed. I couldn’t hold him after surgery, and that was so hard for me and for him. He couldn’t understand why I couldn’t hold him. I would just stand by his crib and touch and comfort him all I could. And finally, I could hold him. He was so happy, and so was I. I would sit in a chair and hold him, and we would go to sleep. I stayed at the hospital for two weeks. I would only go home to change clothes — and then back to the hospital. 

When we came home, he took chemo. He finally learned a routine. They put this thing on his head to hold his head still. After a while, he learned what they were doing, so they didn’t have to do that with him. He would just take the treatment and knew it would be over and we would go home. He was so sweet and had such patience. He was good for a long time, and happy. 

Then it (the cancer) came back, and we had to take him to Charleston for a month. Ken’s mother, Ruby, his dad (J.W.), and Aunt Martha Lou came and rented an apartment. His dad went back home. We’d stay at the hospital all day and go to the apartment at night. Ruby and Aunt Martha Lou cooked for us, washed our clothes, and stayed with Randy at night. They were so good to us. It’s nice to have family that helps you out when you need it. 

We came home after a month. The day before he was to go back to Charleston, Randy died. 

He wanted some Coke that night, and I put some in his bottle, with water, and gave it to him. Ken and I were so tired. Randy called Ken “Sweet Da-da,” and put his hand on Ken’s face. He did that a lot. We all slept together that night. When we woke up, he was “gone.” Naturally, I went to pieces. Ken just picked him up and took him to the living room, just holding him gently as he always did. 

I thank God we had Randy as long as we did. He was such a blessing to us. He touched so many lives. He was an angel on earth. Pastor Jimmy Thompson helped with his funeral. I don’t remember what was said. I had a hard time dealing with his death. 

I was visiting my grandmother, and we went to my uncle’s house who lived close to her, and I held his little son, who was about the same size as Randy was. I started crying. I couldn’t help it. It was just natural. Just the feel of that little body reminded me of Randy. 

I don’t talk about this. That’s how I deal with it. I have had so many mixed feelings since Randy passed. I felt like God was punishing me for some reason. I guess I was angry that he did not heal him. We don’t have any answers for what happens to us in life. We just have to learn to deal with each situation. There is no reason to be angry with God for what happens to us. 

We were fortunate to be around wonderful children over the years to share our life with. Last Sunday afternoon, I went to one of those children’s girl’s birthday party. She has two children. One is five, and one is one. And they have their party together, because their birthdays are close together. All these children I love very much. 

We all have our problems, and dreaded things happen to us in our lives. Matthew 9:22 says, “Be of good cheer.” I am so thankful for Randy, even though I only had him for 23 months. He is buried at Mt. View Methodist Church with a foot marker that says “Sweet Baby.” 

Thank you for listening to this story. I love each of you. Even though you may face difficulty, be of good cheer. God is always with us. Thank you so much. 

(Kenneth “Ken” Trammell and Linda Barnett Trammell were married on Aug. 17, 1966. Their son, Randy, was born on Sept. 21, 1967. He passed on Aug. 29, 1969. Kenneth passed on Oct. 22, 2017. Linda gave this testimony on Wed., May 24, 2023, at Faith Temple, Taylors, SC.)