Cam Patterson

Cam

I can’t believe how no one is being supportive of my decisions. No one appreciates my own thoughts. I’ve worked so hard rewriting this will, and nobody is pleased with it. I know 21 is a young age to start writing your will, but I can feel it happening. I can feel my soul slowly breaking apart with this world. Or maybe it's just all of the seizures I’ve been having. 

The tonic- clonic seizures have been happening to me since I was 8 years old. It wasn’t that bad at first. I just kept peeing on my bed, my clothes, our dinner chair. My parents thought it was just me being a late bloomer, considering I am a 5 foot 7 man. 

They started to get worried when I did it so often, and I would be unconscious in a pool of my own urine. They took me to see a doctor and found out that I was having these seizures. But around that time, I just got offered a role in a sitcom TV show. I played a humorous, unhygienic boy who lives with his siblings and parents. The show takes us through the lives of these weird people.

I worked with my amazing co-stars, who are now my best friends. Now, I know it might be weird to them when their friend is writing a will at such a young age, but in the entertainment industry, it's common. When you start making money at such a young age, you need somewhere to put it. It's always safe to have a back-up. 

They kind of know about my seizures, but they don’t know which ones I’m having. They think it just happens to some people at a young age. It's not really that easy to cover up the fact that you’re peeing uncontrollably, shaking, and losing your consciousness. 

But my seizures can kill me. Especially if they’ve been happening for the last 13 years. Nobody knows about it other than my sister and parents. I just know it’ll be soon before I won’t be able to be with them anymore. 

I give my friends tons of hugs and tell them how much I love and appreciate them many times throughout a day. Although, it's kind of my natural personality to be a big hugger and a sweet guy. What can I say, I am a gentleman.

Now, I’ve been with my friends ever since I started that show that runs on Channel 86. For 5 years, I did that show. When we were done with the show, I took off a year of acting. My seizures were getting a little worse, and my doctor said it would be best to take off some time. The show was a big hit, so I was also waiting for some good offers to roll in. Plus, I had to focus on school a bit more. I was falling behind and my teachers didn’t know about my seizures either. Just my co-stars. It's not as easy to hide a medical condition from people you work with. 

After that break, I was getting a bit better as to where I could start acting again. I did a few movies for a few years, until I turned 15. Then, I received a role for a movie that will continue to run on Channel 86. My co-stars on my first show were continuing a sequel to the sitcom. Unfortunately, because of me doing the movie on Channel 86, I could not join them. Luckily, we shared the same lot when we filmed, so I was with them often. 

At this point, my seizures were occurring less often. I quickly progressed in the world of acting while doing more movies and shows. I even had to attend film school in that period. It was a busy time in my life. 

In fact, I was so busy and overwhelmed, that my seizures started coming back. I knew things were getting worse, so I tried to stay away from my friends for a couple of months. I didn’t want them to see me in this condition. Once I knew that it wasn’t going away though, I wanted to live my life for as long as I had it, and not spend my time between hospitals. 

I went out to parties, shot a few movies, and hung out with my friends. I began to rearrange my life back to normal, and people didn’t even suspect anything. Many actors take breaks. And I was one of them.

Things were great, until I realized I don’t have much time left, so I wanted to write my will. My family and I both knew that it wasn’t much longer. I tried to write my will, but I would always change it. It's pretty hard to decide what to do with your money, especially when you have a lot of it. (Not trying to be cocky or anything.)

There were a lot of people that I worked with, and I grew closer to a lot of them. They’re like my siblings, and it's hard to keep secrets from your brothers and sisters. That’s why I told them about the will. I thought I might get some ideas too. 

I’ve been going back and forth in deciding what charities I want to donate my money to. But I also want to leave some for my friends and family. They all say that they don’t need any money. Probably because they are all actors and make a lot of money. This is harder than I thought. 

2 months later

As more time has passed, I can feel the breathing in my lungs getting shorter and shorter. Good thing I had finalized my will last week. It took a lot of time, but now I know I made the right decision. I trust that wherever my money goes, it will be safe to assume that it will be worthy in helping people. I’ve always believed in making the world a better place. Poverty, hunger, the environment, rape, fatal sicknesses. These are problems that we could fix if we tried together. 

It's clear that I won’t be able to help people right now, but I hope I will eventually. 

Friends Conversation

The room is full of tears and sadness. The tissues are almost out too. All of Cam’s co-stars are together from his first sitcom. It was those that he was closest to. 

It seems so surreal. Cam can’t really be gone. He was the most innocent and caring person in the world. He wanted to do so much.  

Everybody loved his hugs. He gave the best hugs, full of love. This whole room is aching for him and his hugs. No one tells you this, but when someone passes away, the person you want most is the person who’s gone forever. 

“Do you guys think Cam left so much money to all of us for a reason?” One of Cam’s best friends said, breaking the depressive silence in the air. 

Sniffles travel around the room. 

“He always said he trusted our decisions,” Another one of Cam’s friend’s said. “Maybe he wanted us to do something to help people.”

“Yeah. I miss him so much already. We need to continue his legacy.” A few nods and murmurs slithered around the room. 

After a few days, the whole team worked together to create the Cam Patterson Foundation, donating to hospitals specializing in seizures and families who have lost children by having siezures. Chanel 86 even ran a tribute to him after his funeral. The whole world will miss him, but his legacy shall continue.