Bill Text: TX HR2371 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of McCarley Jean Rutledge.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-28 - Reported enrolled [HR2371 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HR2371-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 2371 |
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WHEREAS, The friends and family of McCarley Jean Rutledge, | ||
who passed away on November 24, 2021, at the age of 27, will forever | ||
remember her as a passionate champion for good in this world; and | ||
WHEREAS, Carley Rutledge was born on May 10, 1994, to John and | ||
Laura Rutledge in Fort Worth, and her childhood was spent exploring | ||
the woods behind her house, performing skits with her siblings and | ||
friends, and participating in family game nights that inevitably | ||
descended into giddy chaos; and | ||
WHEREAS, Although Ms. Rutledge's teenage years were | ||
interrupted by a stage 4 Ewing Sarcoma diagnosis, she continued to | ||
live her teenage life by going to concerts and parties and inviting | ||
friends to the teen room at the hospital to hang out; she had a knack | ||
for taking what scraps life gave her and fashioning them into | ||
beautiful moments; her habit of bringing decorations and home | ||
comforts along on her many hospital stays inspired Carley's Closet, | ||
a service that donates similar items to young adult cancer patients | ||
in 13 hospitals across Texas; and | ||
WHEREAS, Two years into her cancer journey, Ms. Rutledge | ||
enrolled in college at the University of Colorado Boulder and | ||
blazed a trail as the first Ewing patient to receive a promising | ||
cancer vaccine that other Ewing patients benefited from; she grew | ||
from a bright-eyed college girl into a woman full of opinions, | ||
interests, and passion, and she immersed herself in politics, | ||
cooking, gardening, running, and travel; and | ||
WHEREAS, After eight years, her cancer returned in her spine, | ||
and following two debilitating surgeries, she spent months learning | ||
to walk again; she continued excelling at her job and created a | ||
popular podcast with her best friend from high school, Monica | ||
Moser, called TX Forever; she went scuba diving in the Blue Hole in | ||
Belize and ran a 10K just months after regaining her ability to | ||
walk; her time was also spent in Red River, New Mexico, with her | ||
family, often curled in an armchair with a huge book in her lap; she | ||
giggled and played with her beloved niece and nephews, and she drove | ||
from Denver to Central Texas to celebrate her grandmother's | ||
birthday, all while undergoing chemo treatments; and | ||
WHEREAS, Ms. Rutledge was an icon of hope in the cancer | ||
community; she shared her story on behalf of the Rutledge Cancer | ||
Foundation and encouraged countless other patients; furthermore, | ||
she testified movingly before both the Colorado and Texas state | ||
legislatures to advocate for insurance coverage of fertility | ||
preservation treatments for young adult cancer patients; and | ||
WHEREAS, Carley Rutledge lived each moment to the fullest and | ||
met every obstacle with grace and strength, and she left an | ||
indelible mark on all those who were fortunate enough to share in | ||
the richness of her life; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of McCarley Jean | ||
Rutledge and extend heartfelt sympathy to her parents, John and | ||
Laura Rutledge, and to her many other relatives and friends; and, be | ||
it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of | ||
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Carley | ||
Rutledge. | ||
Button | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 2371 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
rising vote of the House on May 28, 2023. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||