My Life and Love will Ripples Make...

Candi's Birthday ~ October 28th, 1981

The first page of Candi's baby album has the verse:

Like a single drop of rain

That on still waters fall

My life and love will ripples make

And touch the lives of all.

So read this precious story

As step by step I grow

I am a blessing and a gift

As each page here will show.

Full of love for this new little daughter and dreaming of pink dresses, proms and weddings, I loved this poem. I had no idea that our time with Candice would be so short and that her life, her story, would impact millions around the county. In fact, with the difficult pregnancy and dangerous birth we had already endured, I thought the worst was over. It had to be, it was a miracle she was even here! I feel so very thankful for the gift of this tiny daughter.

But that wasn't all, there was more. Something was wrong. Her pediatrician, Dr. Constance Glasgow and I knew it, but we could not find it. Six months and many, many trips to various specialists, we finally have a diagnosis, Candi has HYDROCEPHALUS. This terrifying news is followed immediately by brain surgery, then another, and another. My tiny baby endured it all with a sweetness that stole the hearts of everyone who cared for her. I am reminded of the poem in the beginning of her baby book, “My life and love will ripples make and touch the lives of all.” Wow, little one, look at the lives you have touched!

Surely, now the worst was over now! We have a diagnosis and a cure - another miracle! Now I can just enjoy my little daughter. Joy and laughter fill our home. We are a happy family with two precious daughters and I feel incredibly blessed and grateful.

Oh how the ripples are spreading… I am invited to become part of a network of mothers called Parent/Friend. As a volunteer member of this organization, I took phone calls from families struggling with the news that their child has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus. I help them process this terrifying news. I listen to their stories, fears and questions, and share with them what it was like for our family, helping to comfort others with our story. I am amazed!

Little Candice – look what a difference you are making in your Mommy’s life and in the lives of so many others. You are “A blessing and a gift to all who know you.”

But the ripple would spread farther that I could ever imagine. Candice was destined for more, much more…