About us

Project One Cause was created as a result of our 15-year journey with our youngest son, Caelum. My name is Annemarie Miller. I am a wife and mom to six children and a grandma (mimi) to four grandchildren. 

I have the belief that most people have an innate desire to problem solve – from simple things like where to get a cup of coffee or in more involved situations like what vehicle to purchase. I also believe that many adults will likely steer away from problem solving when presented with repeated “NO” answers, especially when a life hangs in the balance.

Why is this relevant? I will tell you. On a Sunday afternoon at about 3:00 p.m. on the final day of the year in 2006, the worst possible thing that could happen to a family, did. When Caelum was just 17 months old, he somehow found his way through a fence with a closed gate and drowned in our family pool. Although he was only missing for five maybe six minutes, our lives changed forever. 

In the time that it takes for you to get the mail, brush your teeth and put your shoes on, our smart, lively, inquisitive beautiful baby boy had drowned. My husband found him, pulled him out of the pool and I began CPR. He was taken to our local hospital where they continued resuscitation efforts on that tiny little body for another 70 minutes. He was finally revived, but with a devastation to his brain that was incalculable at that moment. He was transferred immediately to Children’s Hospital Orange County where he remained for next thirty days and then moved on to a pediatric rehab facility for the next four months. 

Shortly after his arrival at Children’s Hospital Orange County is when the “NO’s” began.

NO, he’s not breathing on his own and has to remain intubated. NO, he’s not able to eat so a feeding tube was placed. NO, we have to sedate him because of seizures. And then the bigger “NO’s” came along … NO, the injury to his brain is so severe that he will never get better. NO, he will never be able to do anything, EVER. NO, he will become a “twisted vegetable” so just go home, leave him in an institution and go raise your other five children. Multiple, qualified medical doctors and specialists all saying “NO” and squashing any hope of recovery. 

How could all of this be possible? Our sweet boy was still alive. He was in a coma but still with us and all we could do was pray. We intentionally focused on: NO, this can’t be all there is for him. NO, there must be something that we can do to help him, to help his brain and body begin to heal. NO, with all the science/medicine/discoveries in the world, something had to be out there to help give us hope. 

Presented repeatedly BY the medical experts with “NO, Nothing, Not, and Never” was heartbreaking and we were beyond devastated at the prognosis for Caelum.

NO became a different sound. Man was saying “NO” but in our hearts, we knew God was saying “YES”. So, we began looking for answers. At the time, there was little to no information regarding  hypoxic/anoxic brain injury, let alone non-fatal drowning prognoses. It felt like looking into an endless void. Few interventions existed and those that did were either difficult to access and/or not covered by insurance. And yet, in the face of chaos and tragedy, Caelum persisted. And so too, did our efforts to find something, anything that we could use or rely on as a resource for his recovery. 

Countless hours of painstaking research led to the first of many encounters with innovative and effective (albeit largely unpromoted) therapeutic interventions. Unsure of the financial burden, as we would find to be common in our journey, we took our first leap of faith. And our faith was rewarded. With each search and/or discovery, that dreaded “NO” began to change shape. As we slowly uncovered more interventions aimed at creating a different outcome potential for Caelum’s brain to recover, and, most importantly, as Caelum and his beautiful brain began to respond positively to these interventions, that “NO,” no longer stood as a reminder of what was thought to be impossible. It adopted a new meaning, one of Numerous Opportunities (NO): a future replete with the growth, the hope, the love, the joy, and the faith that would come to define our journey.

Even now, 16 years later we are still driven and resolute in our commitment to continue uncovering unknown and innovative treatment interventions. Not only for Caelum, but for families everywhere. In sharing our journey and our resources, we aim to create a road map from which other families can begin their own journey and redefine that oft-repeated “NO” into a world full of Numerous Opportunities for their child and themselves.