Issue date: 5/5/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy photos Carol and Robert Shepherd in their Houston home. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Courtesy photos Twins James and John Shepherd pose with dates Kari Miller and Leslie Youngblood at Ring Dance. James and John are Class of 2007 engineering majors. [Click to enlarge]

For the typical family, graduation is just another pit stop on the road of life.

Parents watch their children walk the stage, mindful of the fact that it means less money out of their pockets with college out of the way. The student is treated to dinner, somewhere nice. Then they hop back on the road and continue driving to the future, with a few more pictures and a few more memories to help them remember the occasion.

For Carol Shepherd and her twin sons John and James, it's another blessing on a long list of blessings. Carol has the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis, and the opportunity to see her sons walk the stage is one nobody expected.

But Carol isn't one to bow out just because the odds are stacked against her. Beating the odds is a daily struggle to survive so she can enjoy moments like graduation.

"I was diagnosed [with cystic fibrosis] when I was five years old," Carol said. "It's a genetic disease I was born with; it just took that long to diagnose it.

"I've always had colds that lasted longer. As a small child, I would be sick more often. As an adolescent I was in the hospital several times with lung infections. Each year that increases. As I got older, I was in the hospital more and had more lung infections to deal with and more medicines."

When Carol was young, most children with cystic fibrosis weren't expected to survive their childhood. Living through high school and college was an early sign that Carol wasn't one to be defeated by the odds. But, she said, her greatest miracle came later when she discovered she was pregnant with twins.

"At that time, no known women [with cystic fibrosis] had ever survived giving birth to twins, there was no recorded history in the U.S. of that," Carol said. "After I gave birth to James and John, and we all survived, we were written in two different medical journals because there was no recorded history of it.

"It made me feel like I was chosen for something very special. It made me feel very blessed. I feel James and John are a gift from God."

Growing up, James and John thought having a mother with cystic fibrosis was entirely normal. They experienced a childhood different from the average American, knowing that every moment with their mother was a blessed one.

"As long as I can remember [I've known mom had cystic fibrosis]," said James, a senior aerospace engineering major. "They were really honest with me from the get-go. I always knew she had to go to the hospital a lot because she was sick. I asked her what cystic fibrosis was and they told me. I asked how long do people with that live, and they said, 'Not very long. Some don't live past their childhood.' So it was never really a shock with me because they were always really honest with me and set it up as best they could."

"When we were kids, she would go to the hospital a lot; she still does," said John, a graduating civil engineering major. "We would go to the hospital to visit her. That was just a normal thing we would do.

"We are just glad she has managed to survive so long. Most people die at childbirth with this disease. She's wanted to see us live our lives. I guess it means as much to me as it does to her. We are both really important in each other's lives."

Seeing her children graduate from Texas A&M with engineering degrees is an accomplishment that Carol said is very special.

"I am so proud of them getting engineering degrees. I know they've worked very hard and Texas A&M is an awesome school."

Though Carol graduated college from Southwest Texas State University, now Texas State University, she said she has wanted her children to go to A&M ever since she worked with the University as a county extension.

"I couldn't tell you how many ['Aggie Mom' shirts I own], quite a few," Carol said with a laugh. "I'd say probably at least seven or eight. I was a chaplain for two years in my local Aggie Moms' Club. This year, I just became too ill too participate, but I'm still a member. I was a county extension agent my first year out of college and I worked with Texas A&M and found out what an awesome school it is."

Carol always supported the Aggies as her children grew up and hoped for them to attend the University.

"Whenever the Aggies would play football, I would root for them when [John and James] were little kids," Carol said. "My husband roots for that other school, t.u. We would have rivalries like that. Once my boys decided to go to A&M, my husband converted and became an Aggie Dad.

"I really appreciate the people at A&M. I think that the people that have known James and John have been supportive of them. I really appreciate the students and the faculty members at A&M."

Now, years after seeing her twin sons accepted to A&M, Carol will be able to see them walk the stage.

"It's really a blessing. We weren't sure she would be able to make it this far, just taking it one day at a time," James said. "We are really glad and really blessed we will have our mom there with us. This whole ceremony I really feel is more for the parents, for my mom and my dad, so I'm glad she can be there for it.

"I really love her and appreciate the support she has given me. I definitely could not have made it through college without my parents helping me."

Just as her children could not have made it through college without the support of their mother, Carol said she never could have made it if it weren't for the support she gets from her family, God and the friends she holds dear.

"It was very challenging. God has always put wonderful people in my life that have helped me," Carol said. "I feel very blessed to be able to see my boys graduate.

"It's a dream come true. I'm very excited."

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