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Passion for Jesus...Passion for Life
By Leah Stanley
It's so obvious God put them together because they compliment each other so perfectly. Dr. Wesley Dykes, sports medicine physician, is full of life and laughter, while Dr. Pamela Dykes, with a PhD in Organizational Communication, is a gentle, dedicated woman serving her Lord with dignity and grace. Together they are passionate about Jesus, and a blessing to both the ministry and membership of Central Church.
Born in Chester, Pennsylvania, Wesley earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Ohio University. During his second year in med school he met Pam, who was hard at work on her Master's Degree.
"I wasn't really looking for anything serious," Wesley said, smiling at Pam. "Just before I met her I had prayed that the next woman I dated would be the woman I could marry."
Pam, who up to that time had been working for Allstate Insurance as a territorial sales manager, was focused on her education and was committed to receiving all that God had for her.
"I was really hesitant to start dating Wesley because I wanted to be sure that I was following the Lord's lead," Pam said.
The relationship took off, however, and nine months after they began dating, Wesley and Pam were married on June 10, 1995.
The Dykes established their home as Wesley completed medical school, graduating in 1997. Their first son, Braelen, was born in 1999, followed two years later by his brother Brysen. Pam's third pregnancy, however, brought devastating news to the Dykes about their unborn daughter.
"The doctor told us she had cystic hygroma, which was basically a tumor at the base of her brain," Wesley said.
"It was heartbreaking at first," Pam said, "because there were no good outcomes based on what the doctors were telling us."
Pam and Wesley were shocked to learn that doctors believed their baby, if she survived for the full term of the pregnancy, would have sever birth defects.
"I cried for days," Pam said, "and then I began to see people with special needs children, and I noticed how God gave them the grace to parent those children."
Wesley agreed emphatically.
"Doctors were urging us to have an abortion," he said, "but we considered that an unacceptable alternative, especially for someone who has a spiritual relationship with God."
Wesley said that he and Pam began to pray that if this was what God had for them they knew He would give them the grace to raise this child for God's glory. In the end, Pam carried Belicia to full term, and when she was born there was no tumor; she was completely healthy in every way.
"The only way we knew there'd been a tumor was because she had a little bit of fat on the back of her neck," Pam said. "Other than that, she was perfect!"
Shortly after Belicia's birth in May 2003, Wesley accepted a job with Mechanix Sports and Occupational Medicine in Memphis. Pam began to research the Memphis area for a place to live. They settled on the apartment complex right next door to Central Church.
"Central had one spot left in the Parents' Day Out program," Pam said, "and we got Braelen in it."
Today Pam is a stay-at-home mom who is very involved in the counseling ministry at Central. Wesley, who serves in the Air National Guard one weekend a month, continues to practice sports medicine. He and Pam recently traveled to Kona, Hawaii, where Wesley served as one of the physicians for the Iron Man Triathlon.
The Dykes were still in their hotel room at 7:07 a.m. on Sunday, October 15, 2006, when a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Big Island. From their sixth-floor room at the top of the Royal Kona Resort, they both felt the building sway.
"The epicenter was 10 miles away from us," Wesley said, "so we felt everything shaking. And I'm telling you, Pam got down those stairs without her feet ever touching the floor! I was at the top of the stairs just laughing at how fast she got down those six floors!"
Pam joked about the relaxed attitude of her husband.
"He acted like being in an earthquake was just another experience to check off his 'to do' list!" she said.
Wesley said that even as he and Pam made their way out of the hotel they were never really afraid.
"I just had the sense that God wasn't finished with me," he said. "The earthquake added flavor to our trip; it didn't detract from our experience of being in Hawaii."
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