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Corey Coil released butterflies as a metaphor for his condition. Youths with his affliction are known as Butterfly Children because their skin is as fine as a butterfly wing.
Photo courtesy of Lana Coil
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Boy's legacy of kindness remembered
By Dave Moller, davem@theunion.com
» More from Dave Moller
12:01 a.m. PT Sep 5, 2007
Corey Coil died last month, but his impact on people is so strong that people still talk about him in the present tense.
Corey, 14, of Grass Valley, died Aug. 22 after a lifetime battle with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, EB, a congenital condition that causes skin to fall off the body. Although he was in plenty of pain, Corey planned his memorial for 4 p.m. Friday at Seven Hills Middle School as a celebration of life and yet one more charity event he could get behind.
Instead of flowers or gifts, those attending are asked to bring stuffed animals. Those animals will in turn be given to charities to give away to needy children.
"He had a soft spot for displaced kids because he was one himself," said his adoptive mother, Lana Coil, on Tuesday. "He sold his toys last summer and then (with the proceeds) bought more toys for the kids at Kare Crisis Nursery."
Corey raised funds for the EB Medical Research Foundation to help kids who also have his disease like his brother, Alex, and sister, Brandi, who survive him and attend Seven Hills.
He also helped raise money for the Children's Skin Disease Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House and Relay for Life to battle cancer.
Corey and his siblings were originally the foster children of Lana Coil's parents, Leland and Sheryl Coil, in Napa. After Sheryl's unexpected death in 2000, Lana decided to adopt the trio.
Alicia Lopez of Napa helped care for Corey and his siblings while they were in Napa. In a recent letter to cheer him up and to remind him he was a hero, Alicia wrote:
"You have been a big influence in my life. I have known you just about your whole life and no matter the situation you always find something good to say or do ... It makes me want to live my life to the fullest and enjoy what I can."
Another person who wrote him was Dr. Joey Merback, a Texas physician who met Corey at a Stanford press conference for EB donations and was inspired by his spunk.
"I changed my life because of you, Corey. Before I met you, I was selfish and misguided, with all the wrong priorities," Merback wrote. "Then when I met you, and I realized I could be a better person."
Eileen Beadles took care of Corey and was with the family for a full week after he died.
"This kid was something else, he had a heart of gold," Beadles said. "For the condition he was in - he was in pain from the day he was born - he was still always thinking of others. I'm just glad I had a chance to know him."
Beadles said many stuffed toys that Corey gathered will be at the memorial along with others donated from the community.
"We're going to put all the stuffed animals up on stage," Beadles said. "This memorial was all his idea. We were going to do something small, but he wanted big."
Corey also wanted it to be a good time.
"There will be no formal attire, no black, no flowers," Beadles said. "You'll have to dress down (Hawaiian or butterfly shirts are encouraged) or sit in the penalty area. If you don't dress down, you'll have to wear Groucho glasses, that's what he wanted."
There will be pizza, cookies, cotton candy "and lots of cheese, he loved cheese," Beadles said.
At the end, seven dozen butterflies will be released in Corey's honor.
"Butterflies are kind of a metaphor for the disease," Lana said. "Their skin is as light as a butterfly's wings and they are called Butterfly Children."
Lana and Beadles said Corey didn't complain about his impending death. He was just sad that he would not experience many things he wanted, like having a family.
Even in the end, he was kind, Lana said.
"At 7 o'clock the night before he died, he told me 'Thank you for adopting me,'" Lana said. "He was such a sweet, compassionate soul."
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To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@theunion.com or call 530-477-4237.
Know & Go
What: Corey Coil Memorial Service and Butterfly Release
When: 4 p.m. Friday
Where: Seven Hills Middle School multi-purpose room, 700 Hoover Lane, Nevada City.
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