Clearing his throat, he read aloud. "It is a genetic disorder of females characterized by the absence of one of the two X chromosomes. Newborns are below average in length, with swollen extremities and a webbed neck. Short in stature, they have low hairlines, low-set ears, wide chests, and kidney and cardiovascular abnormalities. Some have normal intelligence, but most are below average, particularly in mathematical and spatial-related skills."

The doctor sighed. "Your baby has major issues, expensive to treat. And," he hesitated, "she's likely ... mentally challenged." The father stood and took the mother's hand. "Come. Let's get our baby and take her home where she belongs."

That was forty years ago. Today Baby Laura is a grown woman having experienced many medical hardships, but her mental faculties were never challenged. Her emotional stresses, however, were legion.

Laura was a toddler doll with blonde hair, enormous brown eyes and a ready smile. She could charm a cobra. As she got older, the physical abnormalities inherent in Turner’s became obvious. Those differences made her a constant victim of ridicule by her peers.

"They called me a Munchkin!" Laura was in tears her first day of school. "Why can't I look like them?"

"Because you can't, Princess. Do you know why?"

She nodded her thick mink-colored head of hair.

"Because you're special," her dad said, holding her close. "I love your specialness."

Due to a hearing impairment, her speech patterns were strained and ultimately called for the removal of her inner ear. A hearing aid enabled her to communicate more clearly, but the gawky paraphernalia felt like elephant ears. She wondered why God chose her for such misery. Endless endocrinology treatments, ear surgeries and numerous kidney infections were young Laura’s way of life.

"You've won so many battles," her parents told her when she became disheartened. "Focus on your accomplishments." Her parents' words helped sometimes, but too often Laura just wished to be someone else.

Before entering high school, Laura was dealt another blow when her parents divorced.

She chose to live with her father because it was the only home she had ever known. Her mother was nearby, but it was never the same. Nothing was. Although her facial features remained doll-like, the woman Laura was becoming needed and missed a mother's touch. Laura and her father, however, forged a powerful bond between them.

"I want to be a nurse, Dad," she announced as she cooked his favorite meal. He had put on ten pounds as the happy recipient of her culinary abilities.

"A nurse?" he asked, flabbergasted. "Princess, you’ve spent your life in hospitals! Why would you want more of the same?"

She beamed a heart-stopping smile. "Simple. People were there for me when I needed them. I’ll be giving back."

A big man, he felt dwarfed in the presence of this undersized miracle child standing on a footstool stirring spaghetti.

That fall, Laura entered a nursing program. Her mathematical handicap was a problem, but she had a good coach in her dad whose college major had been Engineering Mathematics. She soaked up biology, however, like a thirsty nomad.

The day she clutched a hard-won nursing degree in her small hands, she announced, "I need my own apartment."

With Laura gone, empty spaces closed around her father, holes she had easily filled with her life force, her heart, her larger-than-life presence.

A few months later, she took another independent step. "What?" her dad asked, not surprised that she had created a blueprint for her life. "You running for POTUS?"

"Better than that! I'm getting married."

"Anybody I know?" her father asked, while his heart kicked over and formed a lump the size of a golf ball in his throat. He was afraid his little girl, the kindest soul he'd ever known, was setting herself up. Legendary California girls were tall sun goddesses, a Beach Boys' album cover. Laura’s physical disabilities would choke a horse. How could she ever hope to compete?

"Marriage isn't everything," her dad said, hoping his words might guide her away from disappointment.

"Dad, every girl dreams of becoming a bride like Princess Diana was. Well, I'm not dreaming anymore. I'm going to make it happen."

His heart nearly broke. He so wanted to soften the blows of rejection he feared would come, but how could he? Had he not encouraged her to dream? Hadn't he always urged her to go for whatever she wanted?

"I'll be a bride, Dad. I may not look as beautiful as Princess Dianna on my wedding day, but I’ll walk down the aisle in a white gown as pretty as hers."

Her father frowned. "You’re sure?"

"Yep. I have love to give," she replied. "God will guide me to the one I'm to share it with because, like you, God wants me to be happy."

She hugged him. "Don't worry. You'll always be my favorite older man."

In the following months, she put herself through the paces. She dieted, bought new clothes and found a hairstyle to camouflage her generous neck.

One evening, just after he had dozed off, she called.

"Guess what?"

"What," he replied, his voice scratchy with sleep.

"I signed up for a video dating service!"

He exploded. "Laura, that’s for nuts and perverts!"

"Simmer down. It's through my church. Very safe." She paused. "I've been praying for this, Dad! Be happy for me."

She giggled; he groaned.

Dreams do come true.

Christopher's eyes danced as Laura walked down the aisle. She wore a white silk gown and a veiled crown of sequins and seed pearls that reflected the candlelight in the church. She walked toward him slowly, her heart racing as her face reflected the love in Christopher's eyes. Laura was his princess.

Holding his daughter’s arm, Laura's father felt a rush of pride for this tiny woman beside him, born with so many obstacles in her path. Unable to accomplish it alone, she’d asked God to make her dream come true, and he did.

Today, Laura and Chris live their happily ever after with two adopted daughters, blood sisters who had been praying for a loving family. Not even born the day Laura and Chris were married, they were part of God’s great plan for Laura.

*To learn more about Turner-Syndrome, go to: www.turner-syndrome-us.org