Readers often touch my heart.

Columnists often hear from readers who describe the way our writings were somehow special in their lives.

But, oh my, if readers only knew the many times they got into my life in my 40-plus years of column writing.

This column today is for one such reader, Julie Davis of Lansing, who got deep into my life nearly 20 years ago. Now, that wonderful lady deserves a follow-up to it all.

Nearly 20 years ago, as a Lansing State Journal columnist, I wrote of my tears and emotions as I sat in an ice cream store eating a sundae with my little granddaughter, Caitlin Cornell. She was only three years old and she had recently undergone open-heart surgery to repair a hole in her heart. What fear and worry all that brought to our family. As we ate our ice cream, little Caitlin looked up at me and said, “Grandpa, I wuv you.” I cried quite hard there in front of everybody in that store.

A few days later, I received a letter from Julie that read as follows:

I have debated about writing you and finally decided to do it.

I’m writing regarding your granddaughter. Your story about her touched me close to home.

My daughter Lora was born with a very bad heart. From the time she was born on June 24, 1985, we all fought to keep her with us. She was always happy and smiling and touched everyone she came in contact with, with her smile.

When you wrote about your granddaughter’s heart surgery, I cut that article out and put it on the refrigerator at home. And it gave me hope for Lora. I looked at your article hundreds of times, going to and from the hospital and doctors. I understood your worry and concerns for her. And when I read your latest article on her about her birthday, I couldn’t have been happier for you and her parents.

Well, my Lora died on Jan. 23, 1986, at seven-months-old, of heart failure.

I still have your articles. I put them in her baby book.

I just wanted to thank you for your articles. They gave me hope.

The next time you visit your granddaughter, give her a kiss for me. God bless her and your entire family.

Now, nearly 20 years later, I found an old envelope in my file cabinet labeled, “Clippings to Save.”

There were only a few clippings in the envelope but one of them was the column in which I printed Julie’s letter. Other columns in that file also gave testimony to the ways in which readers greatly touched my heart.

So, Julie, you deserve a follow-up on Caitlin. She grew up as a great kid and a great student. She won scholarships and recently graduated from Kalamazoo College, a school that specializes in international relations. As part of her college, she traveled to Japan, Russia, and twice to France. The French government has since hired her to teach English at elementary schools for a year.

While Darl and I are extra-proud grandparents today, we found ourselves in tears recently when we read that old letter from Julie. Now, our tears are not for Caitlin’s success. Our tears are for Julie and her husband who were robbed of that chance way back then.

I got on the phone and found Julie. When she wrote the letter, she was Julie Folgenhour of Mason. She and her husband, Ken, were divorced about 10 years ago.

When I finally reached Julie by phone, she burst into tears, and said: “My God, Mr. Hough, you remembered me all these years: I guess you will never know how important your column was to me during our loss of a child.”

Julie, the impact of your letter was no greater 20 years ago than it was today. Like so many other readers, I guess we will always remain special friends who shared the world’s most important thing—compassion.