Calypso Odessa Hope Vander Velden

When asked to describe her it was easy to say she is silly, sassy, and knows what she likes. For the last few years, she thought fart jokes are funny, monsters are nice, and singsonging is a normal part of everyday life. She used to talk about her angels that watch over her, which soon became her friend's spirits who would visit her. Her hobbies and passions were watching cartoons, singing, dancing, chocolate, searching for fairies in trees, going on long walks, helping her mama out, taking selfies and nature shots.

Calypso was a Fourth grader, a Girl Scout, a T-ball player, an honorary U of O softball player, a kick ass warrior, a Social Justice Advocate, and a protector of the bees & pollinators. Resilient beyond her years. My Calypsita has always been a guiding light to be better, to do better. We are all equal and should be taking care of one another, not living in greed and destroying our Mother Earth.

Calypso had many life goals. She wanted to become a singer and dancer. She wanted to be a mommy to a baby girl at 25 years old, as her mommy before her, and her mom before her, and her ma before her. She would often say she wanted to be smarter than her doctors and to go explore so she could learn about the world. Mama and Calypso, as a team, exploring the world. Her latest goal was to become a computer programmer and work for NASA as an explorer, an astronaut. Her true desire was to experience 0 G, weightlessness. She wanted complete freedom to move around.

We never saw a reason why she couldn't do it all and have it all. As her mama, my life's goal was to make sure people did not just see machines and hardships. She was never “suffering with SMA". We would acknowledge that being in a highly non-inclusive society that things were/are often more difficult to navigate than they should have been/be, but we made it a point that #LivingWithSMA was going to be our approach. We made sure Calypso was able to partake in the very experiences as everyone else.

The world is at a loss without Calypso Odessa Hope leading the charge for change. For Inclusion for those with all abilities. For protecting the bees. For basic human decency.

Calypso will be laid to rest with her twin babies JJ, CHA CHA, and an assortment of her favorite stuffies.

She leaves behind an empty-handed mama, her Abue, her Grandpa Farmer, her furry BFF Playa Tinkerbell, her Auntie Mandy, her Auntie Nana, her Unkie Anthonini, all of her extended family/medical teammates and all those who have watched over her in her Adventures over the years.