No Ordinary Daughter

Our daughter Kylene was born with spina bifida - which prevented her walking - and hydrocephalus - where unshunted cerebral fluid tried to crowd out her brain. Because of this latter condition and the surgeries required to correct it, the doctors warned us that she may not be able to learn as "ordinary" people do.

They were right.

Whereas over time "ordinary" people learn to restrain their feelings and to temper their affections, Kylene always gave her heart openly and freely. Her love was unreserved and unconditional.

Unconditional too was her forgiveness. Whereas many "ordinary" people learn to grow callous over the years, and when wronged, learn to hold grudges or qualify their forgiveness when an offending party apologizes, Kylene was always ready to forgive and forget.

Also, some "ordinary" people, seeing Kylene, wheelchair bound as she was, might feel sorry for her. But Kylene never learned to feel sorry for herself. She never stopped challenging her boundaries or pushing at the envelope. She never learned to give up.

No. This was no "ordinary" person. Kylene was extraordinary. Perhaps she did not learn the things that more ordinary people learn. But what's more important than the things she did not learn were the things that she taught: her capacity for love, her willingness to forgive, her determination to overcome. No, Kylene. You were far from ordinary. You humble me, my daughter. No father could be prouder of his child than I am of you. And whenever I grow up, I hope I can be more like you. Thank you for blessing our lives for the past twenty-three years, my angel. Fly free now, as you wing your way to bless those that you meet in Heaven.