When Sasha was twenty years old, I made the hard choice of handing off my precious daughter to a place called, “Marklund Children’s Home.”  It was agony to make this decision.  But, Marklund took over her care through the loving hands of countless volunteers and employees who regarded their work as a calling, not a job.

       For the next fourteen years, they met her great needs far better than I could, and I will be eternally grateful for that incredible gift.  At Sasha’s funeral, there were no less than a dozen caregivers who loved her ,and they wept with me at the personal loss of her in their lives. It's difficult to explain the impact these quiet, broken lives can have on those who have eyes to see and ears to listen.

       Footnote:  Congressman Henry Hyde, a pro-life champion in the U.S. House of Representatives, was a supporter and mentor for Marklund.  The Hyde Center at Marklund is named after him.  Henry and I became friends through the pro-life movement in Illinois, and later, when Sasha went to live at Marklund, he was there to push her in a parade on campus in a Fourth of July celebration.  You can see that towering figure of a man pushing little Sasha on the video of

“Sasha’s Song.”

       Click here to visit Marklund's website:

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