Ellen Cavert is a hero

FIRST COAST CHRONICLES: Sister turns loss into hope for children
In a few days, God willing, Ellen Cavert will cry at the wedding of her 29-year-old granddaughter, Annie.
But when the child was born, Cavert's tears were for her twin sister, Abbie.
Like Annie, Abbie was born prematurely. Unlike Annie, Abbie didn't make it. And the thing that led to her death wasn't just being born too early but being born in a city where hospitals weren't equipped to care for babies who weren't quite ready for life outside of the womb.
"At the time, there was one breathing machine," Cavert recalled, with a sigh. "One breathing machine, two little girls. The doctors were switching them back and forth."
"One little girl, Abbie, was having a lot of problems. She lived to be 6 days old."
Cavert, however, soon wiped away her tears and focused on fixing the problem.
The wife of attorney Tillman Cavert Jr. decided to use her influence to ensure that fewer babies would face the same fate as Abbie. So she joined forces with pediatrician J.W. Hayes, who commissioned her to raise money and awareness for what became Wolfson Children's Hospital.
"At that time, if a baby needed an X-ray, they put sandbags all around the baby to keep him still, so that they could X-ray him," Cavert said. "Dr. Hayes said, 'If you will get some of your friends together, and start to educate the public about the need for a pediatric hospital, I will do everything I can to help you.' "
So Cavert did that.
In 1973, she and 40 of her friends formed the Women's Board. Each year the board, which now numbers 325 women, gives about $1 million to pay for improvements and programs at Wolfson. They raise the money through their annual winter Art and Antiques Show and the Florida Forum, a speakers series.
Still Cavert, at 81, is modest when it comes to talking about the role she played in improving care for sick babies, as well as the local holiday social season. Instead, she credits her upbringing, others around her, and God.
"When we were very young children, we were raised with the idea that you had to serve whenever you could," said Cavert, who grew up in Jacksonville and attended Landon High School.
Yet her life is an example of how people can piece the tears of their own tragedy into a blueprint of triumph for others.
"The tragedy in my life enabled me to do something for the Lord, " Cavert said. "That's what life is all about -- to be used where you have gifts."
"I'm real thankful for my life."
And undoubtedly, so are lots of babies.