Amanda Swain's very first memory is of riding on her dad's shoulders. She treasures that memory in a special way, because he died three days after her fourth birthday. "I remember him smiling as we played Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey at my birthday party," she reminisces. 

Her father, Tom Sharp, was passionate about missions. In fact, her parents, Tom and Sue (Battis) Sharp, were serving as missionaries to Mexico when Amanda was born. At two-and-a-half, Amanda became ill with what was finally diagnosed as a rare liver ailment. She had a nine-hour surgery at San Diego Children's Hospital, the first of its kind done there. Her mother was seven months pregnant with the family's third child, Ben, at the time.

Ben was only ten days old when Tom's doctor told him his chronic Crohn's disease had turned into colon cancer. He was given a few months to live. The family moved back to Ohio to be closer to family.

"My dad refused to just sit in the hospital and die," observes Amanda. He was determined to stay strong, and lived over a year more than expected. The family settled in Bellville, near Tom's parents, and Sue attended Ashland College for her master's degree. "She would take me to classes. I sat on the floor and ate gummy bears," Amanda remembers. ( continue )