Cameron's Amazing Book Club » News

Special Friends

Derrick — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:11:00 +0000

I am so blessed with special friends like Allison Tanner. You hold such a dear place in my heart. Allison’s daughter Sarah sent several books to us for our book club with her mother when I saw her in October. Sarah, these books have found new homes!!

Emma’s birthday

Derrick — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:07:21 +0000

A special thank you to Emma Harvey. She is a seven year old who met Brooklynn in dance class when both were two years old! She has been so kind to collect books for her birthday year after year. Emma, what a treat it is to have you remember and bless us this way!

A couple of Donations made in November/December

Derrick — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:04:30 +0000

Thank you to Ms. Mary Ellis from Mcalester Oklahoma for her Christmas donation. She was Cameron’s mothers-day-out teacher and a fellow Arkansan. Thank you, Ms Mary, for always remembering our sweet Cameron.

We are also blessed that Liz Cotham Furman from New Jersey made a substantial donation to Cameron’s fund in memory of her high school friend, Meredith Hawkins. Liz and Meredith were both classmates of Susan at Little Rock Central High. God bless you, Liz and Merd.

Received books in October/November from

Derrick — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:36:51 +0000

Angela Watkins from Mcalester, OK. The Harvey Family in Fayetteville, AR. A speical donation from Olga Kay Greene. Olga is my great Aunt and Cameron’s great, great Aunt. She lives in Washington D.C. It is kind people like this that helps us deal with the lose of our wonderful Cameron. Derrick Bobbitt.

Walton Arts Center

susanaveritt — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:21:28 +0000

Today we went by and saw the new stone in the garden at the Walton Arts Center. Its from GrAnn-ma and Grandpa in memory of Cameron. It is so nice to have her honored in this way. She loved seeing shows at the Arts Center when she visited Northwest Arkansas. It is such a great place to experience the arts. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Neighbors

susanaveritt — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:18:31 +0000

Thanks to Denise, Erick and E.J. for the great board books in honor of Cameron’s birthday. We couldn’t ask for better neighbors!!!

Cameron’s birthday

susanaveritt — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:16:25 +0000

Dear Cameron– I miss you today and everyday. Most people say that I am so strong to have survived your death. I say, it is unfair and unreasonable to ask a mother– any mother, to survive without her child. It is not right to have to witness your child being injured and taking her last breath. But no one asked me. It just happened. I have survived, but not by choice.
You are missed for so many reasons, baby girl. I miss your smile. I miss your hugs and kisses. I miss the way you looked at me as if you knew my heart. I miss getting to watch you grow up, see the changes that happen to you and because of you. I miss your life.
We all miss you. Me, Daddy, Kennedy, Brooklynn, GrAnn-ma and Grand-pa. What amazes me more than anything, though, is that Carington misses you. She truly loves you. She understands how special you were and even seems to know you. It’s so mature and just even spiritual in the way she talks of you and expresses love for you. At church she sometimes hears a sad or touching song and says, “this song makes me think about Cameron. I miss her.”
I am so proud of your family, Sweetheart. I hope that you can look down and see us. Your daddy has really become this phenomenal Dad. He is so involved in your sisters’ lives. He helps with homework, volunteers at the school, coaches all their sports. He is the best father I could ask for and you are the one that made him a dad. I thank you for being his first born child and creating this amazing parent for my children.
Kennedy is such a beautiful girl. She is empathetic and so good at making friends. She is athletic and smart. She is so much like you. She wants to make you proud. You were the big sister she looked up to and wanted to emulate. And she has, baby, in so many ways. I am so proud of the young lady she is becoming.
Brooklynn is my little free-spirited girl! She always seems to have a theme song playing in her head. She is constantly moving and “thinking”. She is so imaginative. She is sweet and cute and loving. She gives me great hugs. She is well liked by others. Remeber how you always made her laugh as a baby? Even when no one else could. And she looks a lot like you.
My little Carington Hope—she is truly my survival. She is one who pulled me out of my deepest, darkest place. She came along and I held her and held her. I poured my heart into loving her. Now she is filled with love and compassion and energy. She smiles and hugs everyone and they feel happy to know her. Her spirit seems like it comes from someplace otherworldly– and I know where that place is. I know that you are with her. She has a piece of you. And that keeps me going. Thank you for that.
I am so blessed to have a chance to be involved with families and children. I help them on their journey as families and I try to do the best I can for them. It is my honor to help take care of them. The babies and children that I see bring joy to their parents just as you brought me so much joy in my life. I do what I do to honor you and it is because of you that I am able to play that role in their lives. I never knew what I was doing until you came along. Now I get it– I know what it is to be a mom. And that makes me a better pediatrician.
Cameron, your effect on my life is immeasurable. Your life brought me so much happiness and pride. Your death has brought me more pain than I ever thought I could bear. But I wouldn’t trade one minute of the time we had together. I love you my dear, sweet angel.

Love always and forever,

Mama

Thanks so much

susanaveritt — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:20:11 +0000

Thanks so much to Jennifer Kendrick, Shelley Russell, Ashley Gregg of Conway, AR for your donation of books. I am so grateful to friends I have met along the journey of my life. You are special and I really appreciate your book club thinking of us and our little Cameron. God Bless You!

Heaven Day 2011– survived!

susanaveritt — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:25:51 +0000

Thanks to all my wonderful family and friends, Heaven Day this year was actually filled with more smiles than tears. We had a wonderful day in which we celebrated Cameron’s life and legacy. I read to two classes of children– Brooklynn’s kindergarten class at Butterfield and Carington’s 3 and 4 year old class at the Nursery School. The children were very well-behaved and attentive. They seemed to understand how important the day was to us and showed more respect than I am used to seeing in these age groups! I left handfuls of books at both schools and the kiddos were thrilled to get them. It truly warmed my heart.
We made two $100 donations to charities in Cameron’s honor yesterday. The first was to UMCOR– United Methodist Committee on Relief. They help victims of natural disasters all over the world. The other was to the Cameron Averitt Bobbitt Memorial Fund. It is non-profit and we are able to suppport children’s charities on a yearly basis from the income and interest of this fund. This year we supported the Friend’s of Children Fund that is sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Wade Knox Advocacy Center in Arkansas that works with victims of child abuse. It is so exciting that as this fund grows we are able to continue helping charities that help children with larger and larger donations. Both of these organizations received $500!

We were joined by my parents and sister, and after the second school visit we had a nice long lunch. Then I was emotionally exhausted so I took a rest. When the girls got home from school they let some balloons go to Cameron in Heaven. We finished the day with the season premier of our favorite show– American Idol!

The best part of the day was all the love expressed by friends and family. I received lots of texts, emails and face-book messages. I know that lots of people remembered Cameron and sent love and prayers up for us! It was amazing to feel so loved. I know Cameron will never be forgotten!

Thank you to Judge Beth Storey-Bryan for the large bag of books she donated yesterday! She was so generous and will make some children very happy. Sharing books with kids is truly a gift I cherish!

Thanks to all of you who made Heaven Day 2011 special. Know that I love you and thank you for blessing our family with your love. Cameron is smiling down and blessing all of us with her spirit!

Five Years Today

susanaveritt — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 15:51:53 +0000

Today is a day that would be hard for any parent who has lost her child. It is the five year anniversary of the day that Cameron died. I am sad and lost without my baby. But today I want to try to celebrate Cameron’s life, not her death. I want to focus on the beautiful child that she was, not all the emptiness and loss that I feel since she died.
Cameron was conceived by in vitro fertilization. I was not one of those women who struggled with infertility for years, devastated on a monthly basis. It was really a therapeutic pregnancy that just would not occur naturally. I had severe endometriosis, and at 28, I was told to get pregnant or take a medication that would make my body feel it was menopausal. Well, I chose the pregnancy because I knew I wanted to be a mother and I guessed this was obviously the time!
Cameron’s egg survived and implanted itself while two others did not. She was a survivor from the very start. I made it through nine months and she was born healthy and tiny– 6 lbs 3 oz. She had a sizable brown birth mark right in the center of her back.
From the very beginning it was clear that Cameron was special. Every mother thinks her child is the most fabulous of all babies, but I tell you that Cameron was different. She had this quality abouut her that made her seem almost too good to be true. She caught on so quickly, rapidly learning to crawl, walk, run… She talked and sang. She was compassionate and loving. She had empathy from an early age– way before you would expect a little ego-centric toddler to consider the wants or needs of others. I remember once bragging to one of my friends about one of Cameron’s exceptional new talents and the friend said, “Yeah, that’s Cameron!” She was so amazing that it became acceptable to all of us that she could do just about anything.

Cameron was one of the smallest infants you could imagine. She grew so slowly that it really worried me. By her one year birthday she was only just over 15 lbs. Her little sister was born when Cameron was only 14 months old. She came out weighing 8-1 and I feared that she would outweigh Cameron in no time. During Cameron’s second year, we pumped her full of high calorie drinks. By the time Cameron was 2 she weighed 22 lbs– the weight of an average 12 month old. Kennedy did catch up with her. After Cameron turned 2, the two of them were always within a lb of one another. But Cameron’s size never stopped her from doing anything she put her mind to!

Let me give you a couple of examples of Cameron’s amazing talents– pardon me why I boast. When Cameron was 17 months old, I started teaching her sign language. She knew probably 50 signs, and soon learned the sign for each letter of the alphabet. She was incredible at working puzzles. She used to help her sisters (and even the adults helping them) by placing the piece near the right spot and saying “why don’t you try putting it here?” When she started K-4 she was working 100 piece puzzles by herself.

At 3 Cameron got interested in learning the Lord’s Prayer. She would listen as we recited in church, and one day recited it back to me almost perfectly. I had her show off to her Sunday school teacher who was so impressed she had Cameron lead the Lord’s Prayer in church. She bravely spoke into the microphone in front of the entire congregation!

Cameron could say her ABCs backwards, knew numbers and colors in Spanish, could draw and color very well and was starting to read her first semester of Kindergarten. She was an incredible gymnast, the youngest and smallest child in her gymnastics class. She was turning cartwheels well before age 4 and could do one-handed cartwheels at 5. She could flip on the trampoline (and couch)! She also played t-ball and basketball. Her athletic abilities made her Daddy one proud Papa!

Cameron was a happy, healthy, well-adjusted, and well-loved child. Her future was so bright. The only thing Cameron ever did wrong was to leave this world too soon. I know without a doubt that Cameron would have left a mark on this world. She would have made a difference in people’s lives. It is so unfair that she did not get her chance to live that life. Yes, she was here for a short time. And yes the time that she was here was incredible. Everyone who knew Cam could tell how special she was. But her life was cut way too short. It is a tragedy beyond words. I am sorry for this world she left behind that it no longer gets to experience her, because she was just that amazing!

Now that she is gone, it is hard not to be bitter. As her mother I feel cheated. But I do believe, despite my anger and pain, that she is in Heaven. She is in a place of continual joy and happiness. She is loved and cherished. She will never be hurt again. And she still has the opportunity to make a difference here in this world. Her books and financial contributions have touched so many children and families. All over children are reading books because they were shared for Cameron. We have been able to support children’s hospitals, shelters, schools and libraries. Everytime I hand a child a book from Cameron’s Amazing Book Club, I know that Cameron is helping that child. She is creating a legacy for them. She is still sharing her light and that special something that is all too rare in this world today. Cameron is love, and that love lives on.

I love and miss you, baby girl. I wish that I could hold you and see your face. You were and always will be my special angel. You made my life so wonderful. You gave me the greatest gift– the gift of being your Mama. I will never let a day go by that I don’t try to make this world a little better just for you. You are my inspiration and I love you with the deepest and most eternal of love– a Mother’s love.