Silas the loggerhead turtle made a beeline for the breakers Saturday morning, leaving no doubt where the rehabilitated turtle belongs.
Silas Edenfield, the little boy he was named for, stared at the sea from a beach wheelchair on the water’s edge as the turtle disappeared.
And hundreds who gathered for the release after the Tybee Turtle Trot watched both Silases with a mix of joy and sorrow.
Silas Edenfield, 4, is in hospice care at his Lyons home for incurable liver cancer. His love of sea turtles, plea for awareness of other children with cancer and faith in God have touched thousands of people around the world. His Facebook page, “Praying for Silas,” has drawn more than 35,000 likes.
On it, mom Jessica Edenfield has passed along Silas’ passion for sea turtles, which began when he watched a video about them during his first cancer treatment at age 3. That passion led to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center naming a turtle after Silas and attaching a satellite transmitter to the loggerhead so it can be tracked.
The little boy met his namesake several weeks ago on Jekyll, but his condition has worsened since then and the family was uncertain Silas would be strong enough to make the trip to Tybee. However, an anonymous donor flew the family by private plane from Vidalia to Savannah, and another donor offered a stay at a Tybee cottage, making the long trip less arduous.
Still, on Saturday morning, Jessica Edenfield said, Silas didn’t want to get dressed, even in his glow-in-the-dark turtle shirt, until she reminded him what they were up to.
“Then he woke right up and was ready to go,” she said.
Dozens at Tybee on Saturday morning wore their “Silas” T-shirts with a gold ribbon and loggerhead logo. Among them were his great-aunts Bernie White and Kathleen Steransky.
“The whole town has these,” White said.
White and Steransky, like dozens of others in the crowd, and hundreds around the world, sported golden fingernails, too. Silas requested people paint their nails gold for childhood cancer awareness. Photos on Facebook show the glittery results from Savannah to Switzerland.
“He’s been a special gift to our family,” said Steransky, who said the boy would sometimes paint his nails with his grandmother, Steransky’s sister who’s in a wheelchair, to comfort her.
Silas the sea turtle, along with Chatham, another loggerhead released Saturday, were found cold stunned in Cape Cod in January and sent to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll to rehabilitate, explained veterinarian Terry Norton, the director of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.
Norton and other staffers hand-carried each of the juvenile turtles along the edge of the crowd for an up-close look, admonishing everyone not to touch the animals. Everyone except Silas. The turtle crew held the boy’s namesake aloft in front of him and allowed Silas to touch his shell.
“He’s definitely my hero,” Norton said. “He’s a very brave young man.”
As Silas the loggerhead swam through the waves at Tybee, the crowd urged him on, whooping and cheering. Kids jumped up and down.
Silas, flanked by his family and looking small but serene, lifted his right hand and waved goodbye.
MORE ABOUT SILAS EDENFIELD
Jessica Edenfield provides frequent updates about Silas at the Facebook page “Praying for Silas,” where you can learn more about childhood cancer and the family’s efforts to increase awareness. She also provides information on a Caring Bridge site at www.caringbridge.org/visit/silasedenfield.
TRACK TURTLES ONLINE, INCLUDING SILAS
Silas the loggerhead was outfitted with a satellite tag that allows the public to see where he is. Go to www.seaturtle.org/tracking to keep tabs on Silas. The loggerhead should be trackable on the site by Tuesday.