The Schroeders and Shillietos in church after worship and activities on a Sunday morning. Back, Kermit Schroeder and Betty Schroeder; seated (l to r) Kristi, Pam, Kase, and Wayne Shillieto.

In 1980, Pam Shillieto had a bone marrow transplant, after extensive chemotherapy and total body irradiation to treat acute lymphocytic leukemia. Doctors told her that she would never have children. In March 1992, she gave birth to her son, Kase. In January 1995, she gave birth to her daughter, Kristi. Both children were born prematurely. Doctors predicted this might weaken lungs, heart, hearing, and affect learning ability. Both children are in excellent health and doing well in school.

Kase, who will be ten in March, and Kristi, going on seven, are each like a rose unfolding from the arid soil of medical stats and pessimistic prognoses. Two lives - that were not supposed to be - have been emerging in the nurture of family, church, and divine providence that even the children recognize.

Kase and Kristi both know they are special. When asked why, Kase replied, "They predicted mom wasn't supposed to have a baby and God made me come, so I think he has something special in store for me." Kristi's version is "Mommy thought she could not have kids; that's when she did have kids." The six-year-old's theological perspective is "I know God created me, he creates me, he tired to help us, he is all around us and he is special."

Besides this uncanny spiritual insight, and maybe because of it, Kase and Kristi are blossoming into the world and touching lives around them. Pam said of Kristi, "She's a sprite. She wants to sing, dance, smile, and make everybody happy." She makes up her own songs, "about family, our house, our dog, flowers, kittens, rainbows, horses, anything," said Wayne Shillieto, the children's father. Betty Schroeder, Pam's mother, also noted that Kristi makes up her own songs about God," as well as memorizing and adding words to songs she learns at church.

Over several years, reports from school are that Kase and Kristi are "very kind to other people, like children that no one else seems to be playing with," according to Betty. "They are very sensitive to other people and big helpers in the classroom." About Kase, Pam said, "Teachers have said they appreciate his calming influence on other kids. He is a joy to have in class, I'm told."

Kase also can discuss current issues, like the war in Afghanistan. "We are using all sorts of different bombs in different places," Kase said. "But they signed an agreement that they won't use nuclear weapons." Are you glad about that? "Yes, because the radiation would last for a long time." How did we get in to this war? "Well, I think Osama bid Laden since they out-powered Russia, he thinks that he is good enough to destroy America so he can be the ruler of the world." What does God think of this war" "I think he is very sad that this happened in the first place," Kase said. "He wants it to be peaceful. There is too much violence. He doesn't like violence." In his own life, Kase's interests include saxophone lessons, math and science, soccer, Pokemon, youth choir, Sunday school, and the family pets.

When asked how he keeps up with the news, Kase replied, "I ask my grandpa." "Grandpa" is Kermit Schroeder. Both he and Betty took early retirement in May 1991, a few months before Pam's pregnancy was discovered - a providential decision in retrospect. "We felt God was preparing the way for us," Betty said, referring to the long days and weeks they helped Pam and the new-born Kase.

Now they have Kase and Kristi at their home about twice a week, often overnight. The Schroeders live in Greece. On most Sundays, they pick up the children at their home in Spencerport to bring them to the First Presbyterian Church in Brockport. Pam, a registered nurse, and Wayne, who is in the public safety department at Rochester General Hospital, are members of the church, too. They often have to work on weekends.

The Schroeders do engage the minds and hearts of their maturing grandchildren. To focus their attention in church, this year the grandparents challenged Kase to listen for key words and phrases in the Bible reading and sermon. Kristi does the same with the children's message. All this becomes part of conversation after church. It's customary in the Schroeder home to sit and talk at the dinner table. "We often discuss what's bothering them, or what was a good time, or what's coming up that they are interested in." Kermit said. "It's almost like a second home to them," Pam said, adding that her parents are good at teaching values, such as how to treat people, how to appreciate what they have, and saying prayers at meals and at bedtime.

Brockport's First Presbyterian Church seems to be a second home, too. "Since I was five years old, I have been in this church," Pam said. "Kase and Kristi are the third generation coming in." Betty says that her children and grandchildren have benefited from the children's programs: Sunday school, bell choir, children's choir, and "a word with the children" in worship service. "The congregation has been very nurturing and supportive to children," Betty said, a quality, she adds, that has been found in the church's ministers and Christian education directors over time.

When Pam was first diagnosed with leukemia in 1979, it was the church that rallied to support the sixteen-year-old and her family. Drivers were organized to help with regular trips to the hospital. Meals were prepared and brought to the Schroeder home. The Schroeder Fund was established by the church to help with medical expenses. Now, both services continue as the Family Service Team and the renamed Good Samaritan Fund to help other families in need.

The Shillietos and the Schroeders are now on the giving side of this legacy of service that started for them 22 years ago. It's another way that the children are blooming in the world and touching lives around them. "Kase and Kristi have heard many stories of people bringing food to us," Pam said. "Now it's nice that the kids and I have been able to send cards, and, they come with me to bring food to people who are sick. It's good to see them giving back."

Editor's note: In July 1992, in Westside News Inc. publications, Doug Hickerson first wrote about Pam Schroeder Shillieto's struggle with leukemia as a teen, the birth of Kase years later, and the help of family and church that surrounded her. After observing Pam's two children grow up in his church for nearly a decade, he provides this happy sequel.