ASHLEY TERRY
James “NDN” Gardner is known as the person who “shows up.”
From serving as the best man in his best friend’s wedding to moving his mother right next door for ease of care during her cancer diagnosis, Gardner has spent much of his life showing up for those who need him most.
But now, he needs the Azle community to show up for him.
Gardner, an Azle resident and father of three, is facing foreclosure on his home during one of the most difficult times of his life: a battle with terminal liver failure — but it isn’t the only battle he’s faced.
THE FIRST BATTLE
While Gardner spent the majority of his life as a concrete tradesman, he said he believes that very same career ultimately contributed to the development of a rare and debilitating skin disorder.
“I was overexposed to epoxy resin at one company that ended up making me have multiple chemical sensitivities that has just gotten worse and worse over the years, where all chemicals affect me now,” Gardner told The Azle News. “They asphalted the road in front of my house, and I was breaking out in hives for three days; it became more and more difficult to work and even be out in public.”
The skin disorder began about 12 years ago, and despite Gardner’s efforts to manage it, he was eventually forced to reduce his hours at his job. By the time his employer shut down and relocated, Gardner was working just two days a week as needed — and his worsening condition made finding another job nearly impossible.
“It’s been a little over a year now. April 9 of last year was the last day I worked,” he said. “It’s hard to find a job where I’m not exposed to chemicals.”
But unbeknownst to him at the time, his battle was just beginning.
A NEW FIGHT
With Gardner’s skin condition limiting his ability to work, he spent the next several months navigating the disability process — all the while his health continued to deteriorate.
“I’ve tried a lot of different drugs for my skin issue over the years,” Gardner explained. “Medicines affect me differently — everything affects me differently — so my body just started shutting down on itself.”
Earlier this year, Gardner said he began experiencing liver problems and was diagnosed with cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver. He was later diagnosed with terminal liver failure.
In the midst of a new diagnosis, Gardner is also facing foreclosure on his home, with bills piling up from a year and a half of not working.
James Quigg, Gardner’s best friend, said the foreclosure didn’t happen because Gardner gave up working. In fact, he said Gardner is one of the “hardest-working and most capable people” he knows.
“Concrete was part of his family’s background, and he built a successful career as a union ironworker,” Quigg said. “He helped build the Devon Tower, worked on windmills and contributed to buildings and infrastructure that people rely on every day. He was doing well because of his skill and work ethic; he was never someone who avoided responsibility.”
THE MAN BEHIND THE NAME
That responsibility, Quigg said, has extended into every aspect of Gardner’s life — especially when it comes to caring for others. He explained that while Gardner was going through his own health crisis, he was also the primary caregiver for his mother as she, too, battled cancer.
“Even while his own body was failing him, he was still taking care of someone else. That is who NDN is,” he said, using Gardner’s nickname. “He truly would give someone the shirt off his back, and over the years he has opened his home to people who had nowhere else to stay.”
Quigg and Gardner share more than just a first name; they also share a deep-rooted friendship — one that’s lasted nearly 25 years.
“We actually didn’t care for each other at first, mostly because we liked some of the same girls,” Quigg said. “I was the preppy white kid trying to work my way into the group at lunch, while NDN was the honest, natural protector everyone felt safe around.”
Their friendship isn’t the only thing that has stuck around since Gardner’s school days. His nickname, NDN, also originated during that time as a joke to avoid getting in trouble and as a nod to his Native American heritage.
“Growing up in Oklahoma City, I was one of the very few Indians in school, so all my friends would call me Indian,” Gardner said. “One day, we get called into the principal’s office, and he’s all like, ‘You guys can’t call him Indian. That’s being racist.’ Well, my friend, who was also Native American, she’s like, ‘We’re not calling him Indian. We’re calling him the letter N, the letter D and the letter N — NDN.’ That has since become my name.”
While Gardner said he always stuck out like a sore thumb around his group of friends, he liked the nickname because it always reminded him of his Kiowa roots.
“I’m very much a part of my heritage,” he said. “I was a dancer as a kid and grew up in the Kiowa circle … I keep continuing that tradition and that culture with my children to help establish where their roots are and where they came from.”
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
Gardner has three children — twins who are about to turn 18 — and a 14-year-old son. He said they enjoy spending time together outdoors, whether it’s fishing, hiking or visiting a national wildlife preserve.
“They’re good boys — they have very good morals,” Gardner said. “I’m very proud of them.”
While Gardner’s house may be made up of four walls, he said losing it to foreclosure would mean losing something much more than just a house — especially since he calls it his “dream home.”
“I’m right on the edge of town. I’ve got a creek running through my backyard. It’s a nice little bit of land and trees where I can go relax, be with nature and listen to the water run,” he said. “My boys love it here, and I just want to spend as much time with them as I can.”
Quigg said he recently launched a GoFundMe for Gardner to allow him to stay in his home surrounded by the people who love him — ensuring he can spend the time he has left in peace.
“His illness has already taken away his ability to work. It has taken away his health. It has taken away the future he thought he had,” Quigg said. “We are trying to keep it from taking his home, too.”
According to Quigg, it will take $19,000 to bring the mortgage current and save Gardner’s home from foreclosure.
“We are not yet where we need to be,” Quigg said, “but we are going to keep trying until NDN has what he needs to save his home and spend his remaining time there with his family — with the dignity he wants and deserves.”
For Quigg, perhaps the most heartbreaking part of Gardner’s situation is the “painful irony” of what he now stands to lose.
“He spent his career helping build the structures and infrastructure people depend on,” he said. “Now, because illness took away his ability to work, he is fighting to remain in his own home.”
Gardner said what drew him to Azle in the first place is the tight-knit, small-town community and he hopes that same community will now rally around him in his time of need.
“Everybody knows everybody and everybody’s here to help when you need help,” he said. “People come together for anything and everything; it’s a great community.”
For individuals who may not be able to donate, Gardner said there are still two ways they can help.
“Share and pray,” he said.
To donate, visit gofundme.com/f/help-ndn-gardner-spend-his-final-days-at-home.
