StoryCorps: Thom and Karen Horsey

Liddie Horsey was born with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. She didn't reach her ninth birthday, but she changed her parents' lives. Thom Horsey and Karen Manning Horsey recently spoke of how grateful they are. Born on Oct. 10, 1997, Mary Lynne Dow Horsey, or Liddie, spent more than three weeks in the hospital before coming home. The Horseys' doctors told them that if their daughter didn't walk by the time she was 24 months old, it would likely mean that she never would. But at 28 months, Liddie started walking, holding on to the coffee table for help. "As usual, Liddie did things on her own time schedule," Karen says. "She started to take her steps, and she was so happy," Karen remembers. "And that's when I knew to throw out those stupid milestone books. And that Liddie would just be Liddie." Karen decided she would simply enjoy her daughter -- and enjoy being her mother. "You can't live your life measuring your child against the norm," she says. Liddie's condition kept her from speaking. But while his daughter might not have talked, Thom says, she expressed plenty. "She was always laughing, and giggling. It doesn't strike me as, that was anything that was missing, in a way," Tom said, recalling his daughter's expressiveness. "God, she laughed so much." "If she was sitting here," Karen told her husband," what I would say is, 'Thank you for making me your mom. It was the greatest experience I'll ever have.'" Diagnosed with lymphoma in July of 2005 -- a condition not related to CdL Syndrome -- Liddie died at age 8, in December of 2005.