Precious

I am not sure how many saw the documentary about this precious miracle of a child on tv, but it was extraordinary. Little Shiloh Pepin had been in the hospital on a ventilator before she succumbed to the pneumonia and kidney failure. Shiloh died at a hospital in Maine on Friday, October 24, 2009.

Children with this "Mermaid Syndrome" (sirenomelia) rarely live past a couple of days, but Shiloh beat the odds each and every day she woke up. She was terrifically upbeat, a bit precocious, and very intelligent. Like any other child, she had hopes and dreams of being a princess...or a jeweler...or anything else she may want in the future.

Little Shiloh had hope, and she had a zest for life. So many of us whittle away at life like it's something we just need to get through, until days are weeks, and weeks are months, and months are years. Before we know it there are wrinkles on our face and gray in our hair, and I have to wonder if we even spent one day of that time with as much zeal and brightness as this little girl had daily.

I was sad to hear of her passing, but happy to know that she had many more years than most all of those with sirenomelia, as she was one of only six in the world living with mermaid syndrome.

My heart goes out to her family and friends; may you find peace and joy in her memory.