Lights for Stephen

"I got my Christmas tree; I got my lights," said three-year-old Stephen Ridlon. "Santa Claus came." Stephen's parents and his big brother Timmy, 6, watched fondly as the out-of-season decorations lit up their Detroit home early in March. Stephen's eyes were as bright as the tree's lights, but Stephen was too weak to do more than just look.

For two years his small body had been racked with cancer. Doctors had removed one of Stephen's kidneys in an attempt to halt its relentless advance. But the cancer spread through the child's abdomen and into his chest. By last January it had destroyed one of his lungs. Two weeks ago Stephen was put into an oxygen tent. Doctors told his parents the end was near. Hugh Ridlon, 28, an ex-G.I., and his wife Helen asked Stephen what he wanted most in the world. "Another Christmas tree," he answered. Last week, soon after he saw his tree, Stephen died.

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