This is a letter I wrote and sent to the editor of the McAlester Capital News:

 I am writing this letter on the occasion of the second anniversary of the death of my granddaughter, Cameron Averitt Bobbitt.

 Cameron was the child of my heart.  Because of her mother’s severe case of endometriosis, she had to be conceived with the help of fertility specialists.  The process was very painful and expensive and carried no guarantee of success.  On my birthday in the year 1999, two perfect embryos were planted in my daughter’s womb.  I was fortunate to be the only family member to see them under a microscope before they were implanted.  They were perfect circles, one much larger than the other.  Only one survived.  That one became Cameron Averitt Bobbitt.

 Following the wonderful privilege of seeing her before she began to grow in the womb, I was present at her birth.  Hers was the first birth I had ever witnessed.  I was in awe of the wonderful miracle, and my joy and excitement were complete.  I felt an instant connection with this tiny baby.  After all, I had known her from her beginning.

 As I gazed into her face for the first time, I felt that it was not the first time at all.  I knew I had seen her many times.  I had studied that face in the ultra-sound photos; I had seen it as part of a microscopic circle; and it was the very face of her mother.

 Throughout Cameron’s short life I would tell her, “I was the first person to ever see you alive.” 

I think she knew that what I really meant was that I loved her more than words could say, because one time she replied, “I was the first person to ever see you alive too!”

 When you reported Cameron’s death, you gave information about the driver, Mr. Max Kenyon, but you did not tell very much about Cameron orher family.  You quoted Mr. Joslin, superintendent of Frink School, as saying the family was new to the community and virtually unknown.  You did not mention that Cameron’s mother was a physician who had been recruited by the hospital to serve the area because it was medically under served.

 I am writing this letter to correct the impression you gave that Cameron was an insignificant, unknown person whose death didn’t matter.  It mattered very much to me.