Richmond twins’ love for each other impacts a community

During a recent Senior Showcase, each Richmond Senior High School vocalist was invited to select one song to perform at a private recital to highlight their growth as a singer.

Any song, any genre.

The door was left wide open for students to shine in their moment with their vibratos and vocal runs. It could have been the most complicated vocal masterpiece, but one student with a special story had a different idea.

When Caroline Cline, 18, took her place to perform in Lauren Lutz’s classroom, she was visually and emotionally fragile as she opened the door and walked to the center of the small room. Tears ran down her face as she introduced her choice song and its reasoning.

It was her twin brother’s favorite song to sing with her since they were young.

Everyone knows Caroline and Christopher on campus. They are a staple of the Raider community. The only time they are apart is when she has to go to class. Christopher will be at all his sister’s musical events, and she pushed him up the ramp at the local Special Olympic pedestal to receive his medal.

He was there that day for his sister, quietly sitting in the back of the classroom and sitting in his wheelchair and watching his sister shake off her worries.

Christopher couldn’t say anything to encourage his sister. As much as he wanted to say, “Good luck” or “Break a leg,” the words couldn’t come out of his mouth, literally.

See, Christopher was born with cerebral palsy and is non-verbal, but he was still there cheering on his sister in his own way. A close bond that only twins could understand.

Caroline opened her eyes, and the next words that came out of her mouth were the first verse of the song that would show her love for her brother.

“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” she sang with complete emotion and passion.

“She was in tears as she tried to introduce the song, but once she started, her voice never wavered,” said RSHS music educator Lauren Lutz. “Christopher, of course, was singing along quietly at the back of the room, too.”

This is Caroline’s story, but Christopher is her story, and the bond of two siblings and how they conquer each day, one day at a time.

From the day they were born, life has tossed challenges at them, and each time, they have risen and said, “Not today.”

They were both born at 33 weeks and were immediately put on ventilators, according to their mother, Becky Campbell.

“They came into our lives just two weeks after our youngest moved out on her own,” said Becky. “Pat and I immediately were blessed to rear children again.”

Pat and Becky are not Caroline’s biological parents but grandparents who adopted them as infants. To her and Christopher, they have always been momma and dad.

“We always knew who our biological parents were,” Caroline said. “We also have a sister, Emily Cline. They all live in Louisiana.”

Caroline said her parents pushed her to be the person she is today.

“If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know where I would be,” she said. “They were always there when I needed help or just to have a talk. I am close to both of them, and I have a special bond with each of them.”

Becky said Caroline understood early that her brother was “different” and had medical issues.

“She has always called him her baby,” she said about the bond of the two siblings. “I’ve always called her his little mama. It’s a deep love that they share.”

Growing up, they went to different elementary and middle schools, but Caroline was always involved in her brother’s education. That changed in high school when they finally got to attend the same school and share the same experiences.

“Once we got to Richmond, we felt more close to each other,” she said. “I would always go see him in his class when I got the chance, or I spend my 25-minute lunch with him and his classmates.”

Becky, Pat, Caroline, and Christopher had many good memories and did everything together as a family. Those memories would also be scary and define who they would be as a family.

For Becky, one memory would be when their children were four years old. Christopher had a seizure, and Caroline was shaken as a young girl to watch her brother and best friend in that condition, not even in kindergarten.

“I could see it in her face,” she said about Caroline’s fright, but that was just for a second. “She yelled, ‘Wait!’ and put her hand on Christopher and started praying for him. She was so calm at that point, and the seizures stopped.”

She said that love has never wavered one day or one moment. “That’s when I knew she truly understood, even being that young, and I recognized that unbreakable and really unique bond that will never end,” she said.

It’s that bond that helped Caroline on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, when Pat passed away from bone cancer. She remembers every minute and moment of that heartbreaking day for a small family built on their Christian faith and unconditional love for each other and everyone around them.

“He and I had a very special bond,” she said about her father. “I would be everywhere with him. He called me his ‘Little Shadow.’”

When he passed away, Caroline was next to her father and knew she had to be strong for her brother.

“I was by his side through it all,” she said. “I still miss him, and it was a tragic time, but I know he is watching me and Christopher in heaven and smiling down at us each day.”

In Pat’s final weeks, Becky said Christopher would crawl to his bedside every night and hum “Jesus Loves Me” to him every night. The same soft hum would return for his twin sister’s vocal showcase in Lutz’s classroom. Maybe Pat was next to Christopher as he hummed the song that day. A secret only he would know.

Christopher struggled the same as any child who lost their father too early.

“He went through a period of mourning and anger,” Becky said, “We explained to him where his dad is. He understands, and he knows his dad’s remains are on the grounds of Krystal Dawn Retreat.”

Since his death, Caroline has carried the torch of her father’s passion for helping others. He was involved in Toys for Tots at Sweet Haven Church and giving back to a community he loved.

“We call it ‘The Pat Campbell Toys for Tots Drive,’” Caroline said.

With a brother with special needs who needs direct care, Caroline has gone the extra mile to ensure she has time for her brother and to be a typical teenager enjoying the same activities and her friends.

One of those activities was being in the Teacher Cadet class for the past two years with her teacher Suzanne Hudson.

“Her dream is to become an exceptional children’s teacher,” Hudson said. “This year, she worked with Stephanie Upton at Washington Street Elementary during her field experience. Caroline was able to provide great insight as we prepared to assist with the Special Olympics in May and helped lead a debriefing session we had the next day in class.”

Hudson said many students had questions about the previous day, and Caroline reassured them they had done the right things when working with the athlete they had been paired with.

Having taught music education at the levels of elementary, middle, and high school, Lutz said Caroline is the only student that has been in her class at all three levels.

“The more I got to know her, the more she surprised me,” she said. “In my class, she’s so quiet and still that she could blend into the background, but it’s not due to timidity or a lack of enthusiasm. Quite the opposite.”

Lutz said Caroline has strong opinions when the need arises but has the maturity to be part of a group without demanding the spotlight.

“She’s always engaged in what’s happening and follows through on whatever she commits to without needing a reminder. These things are going to serve her well in her quest to become a teacher.”

Caroline will start the fall semester at Richmond Community College, then transfer to the University of North Caroline at Pembroke to earn her bachelor’s degree in education to teach exceptional children.

“I really want to go back to school to get my master’s and then my doctorate at some point during my teaching career,” she said. “I’ve always had a passion for special needs kids.”

At only 18, she has a plan to give back to the community and help others, like Christopher, to live productive lives and know they are loved, just like the love she has and will always give her brother.

“We can all learn a little something from Caroline,” said Hudson, “It is so simple. Just love everyone and smile.”