Kaitlin just loved her puppy, Jasmine, and our cat, Shadow. Anything that was soft and furry always made her laugh. The "kids" always joined her for her morning and afternoon cartoons. Kaitlin's favorite theme was Sesame Street; her room was filled with everything we could find for Sesame Street. Because Kaitlin's eyesight was impaired, she relied mostly on auditory stimuli. Anytime a Sesame Street character would speak her face would light up; she loved listening to the videos. She seemed to especially like action movies, especially the explosions! Kaitlin was such a happy little girl and loved to hear her name called; she would laugh so hard when mom or dad would say "Kaitlin Bell" in a sing-song way. She laughed when she heard the theme song to Jeopardy or The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air! If she was upset, she would calm down when she was hummed the theme to Hawaii Five-O. Unless she was not feeling well, which was rare, she always had a smile on her face.

Kaitlin attended several special schools in Delaware including: The Katie L. Handy Orthopedic Facility in Seaford; and The Meadowood and John G. Leach Schools in Wilmington. The emphasis for Kaitlin was placed on oral feeding, motor control (holding her head up, sitting upright, reaching and grabbing, etc.), and learning to activate toys with special switches. Some emphasis was also placed on bearing weight on her legs for standing and coordinating leg movements for walking. Over the three years following her car accident she had many therapists. Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapists along with Special Education Teachers and aides, Visual and Hearing specialists, and multiple physicians, were among the many that spent time with Kaitlin to help her achieve these goals.

Kaitlin accomplished many things never thought possible. Her head control and her sitting posture were improving. She was eating everything by mouth and she loved pudding; but she didn't like ice cream because it was just too cold; what a face she would make! Kaitlin had lots of special equipment to help her (see pictures below) sit, stand, and more recently, walk!

One of the things that Kaitlin was not supposed to ever do was walk. It took my wife and I a long time to convince someone to try her in a piece of equipment called a Rifton Gait Trainer. Finally, in May, 1998, her Physical Therapist placed her in it and while she was explaining to others how to properly position her, Kaitlin took off! She walked for ten minutes down the hallway at school. Everyone in the surrounding classrooms came out to watch her in disbelief as she cruised down the hall! She was barefoot and whining the whole time, but she kept on going. The therapist was so excited, she called me at work right away. I was shocked and happy at the same time! I was so proud of her; my little girl could finally walk again!

Unfortunately, right after her triumph, she had an extremely high fever of unknown origin and was hospitalized for three days. She eventually recovered and walked again but had more trouble with all the things that she had strived so hard to achieve. She was now much more sensitive to heat and was unable to tolerate being outdoors. Her oral eating was significantly diminished and we had to substitute with more and more tube feedings. She became much more irritable and upset. We took her to see her Pediatrician on Thursday to see what we could do for her. We made an appointment with her Neurologist for the following Wednesday. She passed away suddenly on Saturday morning.

The State Medical Examiner, in her report, concluded that Kaitlin had died because of the injuries she sustained in the accident in 1995. But Kaitlin was able to overcome the odds and she continually exceeded the expectations of everyone who worked and cared for her. Kaitlin was truly a special little girl and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

Kaitlin could not have achieved all of the things she learned to do and was still learning to do without all the special equipment and professionals who worked with her every step of the way. We have now set up a foundation in her name to help other special children receive the same opportunities that Kaitlin was given.

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