August 9, 2022

A Mother’s Love Part 3

By Cammie Wolf Rice

As I reflect on the events that have occurred since my dear Christopher’s passing, I am overwhelmed with an array of emotions. To say that my steps have been ordered is an understatement. I know, without doubt that I am indeed in divine alignment with God’s plan.

a·lign·ment

the act of aligning or state of being aligned

especially : the proper positioning or state of adjustment of parts in relation to each other

Since Christopher’s physical departure from this earth, his spirit has been at work, facilitating the divine alignment of the many pieces of puzzle that make up our story. You may remember in the second installment of my A Mother’s Love series, I talked about the Calmette Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the wonderful doctors and staff there who cared for Christopher’s body immediately after his passing. Little did I know at the time, the Calmette Hospital would become such an integral part in Christopher’s legacy. But, that’s exactly what alignment is all about.

I recently traveled to Cambodia to celebrate 15 years of The Cambodia Children’s Fund. I currently serve as a member of the CCF US’ Board of Directors. As you can imagine, I travel to Cambodia often, but this trip was especially special. It was on this trip that I was able to see alignment in action.


When my son, Christopher passed away on February 26, 2016, my friends, Emory physicians Dr. Jenny and Dr. Dawn were there traveling with us from the States. It was Dr. Jenny who lovingly performed CPR on Christopher for an hour until the paramedics arrived. At his viewing that night, I told her that we’d met for a reason, and as life would have it – every day I continue to learn how huge that reason truly was. In A Mothers Love Part II, I explained how amazed I was to learn that exactly 3 years to the date of Christopher’s death, my friends Dr. Jenny and Dr. Dawn would return to Cambodia to conduct a leadership, training, and mentoring program for doctors and nurses at Calmette Hospital.

As if that isn’t mind-blowing enough, while on this recent trip to Cambodia, I was able to revisit the Calmette Hospital for the ribbon cutting ceremony of their NICU Unit, Christopher’s Hope. How beautiful is it to know that precious babies will be nurtured, loved, and saved in a unit in honor of the greatest giver of love I’ve ever known: Christopher. Talk about breathtaking. We wanted to do something special to thank Dr. Ra, at Calmette for taking such special care of Christopher. We are grateful that to have been able to contribute to their cause, supporting them as they have so graciously supported our family and the legacy of our son.

As amazing as that is, the story doesn’t stop there. While in Cambodia, I visited the health clinic (also named) Christopher’s Hope – that serves patients in Cambodia, and employs 28 people and counting. After my son passed, we asked for donations in lieu of flowers for Christopher’s funeral. Our loving family and friends contributed over $200K, which directly benefited the clinic that CCF’s CEO, Scott Neeson, named in Christopher’s honor. This amazing clinic services the CCF children and their families, as they see close to 200 patients daily. We have been blessed to assist in numerous renovations including the remodeling and addition of equipment including a tele-medicine service with Emory! My son’s legacy is literally helping people heal, which was one of his life’s passions.

I am thrilled to see the progress we’ve made within the Christopher Wolf Crusade in such a short time, and I know that the strides will only continue to grow larger. The calls, texts, messages, posts, and support I’ve received from you all since our launch is unmatched. I’m so very grateful for the crusaders that are present, and the ones that are to come. While I do none of this for recognition, I was completely shocked and honored to learn that I’d be receiving a Medal of Honor from Her Royal Highness Princess Samdech Sisowath Pongneary Monipong of Cambodia herself. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful, and a memory I will hold near and dear to my heart forever.

The best part of it all is that I know deep down that that was Christopher’s doing as well. It’s as if he’s making sure I know that he’s with me, cheering me along as I work to ensure that his legacy never dies… and it won’t. Because a Mother’s Love is never-ending and true. And a MOM always gets it done.