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…

Mother's Day Gift to Donor Families

It is my honor and privilege to announce to you this Mother's Day 2008, the official birth of The Gift of Candi Foundation, giving gifts to those who gave the Gift of Life.

For most of these 13 years since my sweet daughter Candi died, I have had a burden for how we show our compassion and respect to those brave families, who in their time a great tragedy and loss, looked outside themselves and thinking of others who may be dying that day, gave the greatest gift of all, the gift of life.

As I volunteered with a group called MOD Squad , sitting with families in the hospital trying to cope with the terrible news that a loved one died, I wanted to do more for them. Although I knew that their decision would ultimately help soothe the terrible ache and loss. I also knew they would have other needs; the need to hold on to the memory of a life ended too soon, the need to receive a letter of gratitude, and often times, a deep desire to meet the recipients. Many of our donor families are in desparate need of financial assistance, but to date, no one is there to care for them.

It seems to us that offering acts of kindness toward families who give so unselfishly must be made available. After all, without them thousands more will die. Right now, today @ 2:23, there are 99,258 people on the wait list waiting for organs. 18 die every day, never receiving the gift of life. In 2007 8,091 donors saved the lives of 28,355. We don't need money for research, we don't have to wait years for a cure, it's here, however half of the cure is being thrown away because families are saying no to donation. At Candi's Gift we believe that when we begin offering better aftercare to our donor families, more families will respond positively to the option to Give the Gift of Life.



If you would like to help, please contact us at:



The Gift of Candi Foundation

Email: wendy@thegiftofcandi.com

You Can Help

Letter to Donor Families from: Yilian Fraga, MSW
Community & Donor Family Services Supervisor
University of Miami Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency
Feel free to forward this note to others who can help us ensure these bills are signed.

Dear Donor Families:

Senator Oelrich's and Representative Hays' bills to improve Florida's donor registry have passed in both chambers of the legislature. They now are making their way to Governor Crist's office for his signature.

SB 2630 is the registry improvement bill. It will allow the overburdened AHCA to contract with an outside entity (through an open and impartial process) to not only create a new and improved registry, but also to run it.

SB 2610 is the exemption bill, which will make the registry information exempt from the Sunshine Laws.

It is imperative that the governor sign these bills, so we can get on our way to improving the donor registry in Florida and give more hope to the thousands of patients in need of a life-saving organ transplant and life-enhancing tissue and corneal transplants.

Your help is needed! Please send Governor Crist POSITIVE letters ofencouragement. No need to remind him of last year's veto. That road has been well-traveled. I've listed several points below that you may wish to include in your letters. You don't have to use them all.

A few key points:

● Both bills have passed in the House and Senate. A similar registry bill passed unanimously in 2007, and all of the governor’s concerns with that bill have been addressed in the 2008 bills.

● AHCA is overwhelmed with other healthcare issues and doesn’t have the resources to adequately run the registry. Outsourcing it to an able entity will improve the system.

● The registry desperately needs to be updated. Improving the registry will make it easier for millions of Floridians to join the registry and ultimate save lives.

● Hundreds of patients in Florida are dying each year because there are not enough donor organs for them. Fixing the registry and allowing Floridians easy access to designate their donation decisions will help save lives.

● Signing these bills will help improve Florida’s donor registry and ultimately save lives. When Florida improves its donor registry, it can once again become a national leader among states with effective registries.

It's best to e-mail or fax him, as U.S. mail takes much longer to reach his desk. Hearing from the individuals who have been personally touched by donation and transplantation and who want (and need) these bills to be signed will matter to him. Feel free to forward this note to others who can help us ensure these bills are signed.

Office of the Governor
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Phone: (850) 488-7146 or (850) 488-4441
Fax: (850) 487-0801
E-mail: charlie.crist@myflorida.com

I thank you in advance for your time and attention.

Sincerely,Yilian Fraga, MSW
Community & Donor Family Services Supervisor
University of Miami Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency
1801 NW 9th Avenue Suite 150A
Miami, FL 33136
305-243-7344