The one downside, he said, was seeing his wife go through such pain in the birth room.

"Wait until your child gets sick," counseled his friend. "Then you'll know what pain can be."

Jay and Liz Scott of Wynnewood didn't have to wait long. Their daughter, Alexandra, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a form of pediatric cancer, at the age of 1. Last week, Alex succumbed to the unforgiving ailment. She was only 8 years old. Her passing underscores the unfairness of a world in which parents have to inter their children.

And in Alex Scott's case, the unfairness resonated globally.

At the age of 4, she embarked on what would be a lifelong mission: to raise awareness and funds for treating childhood cancer, with a front yard lemonade stand at the family home in Connecticut.

Her parents were skeptical, fearing that "If Alex only raised a few dollars ... she would be disappointed," said Liz Scott.

Instead, the child that could exceeded all expectations. Over four years, Alex's Lemonade Stand raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was sufficiently profitable to establish a fund through the Philadelphia Foundation to help promote juvenile cancer research.

This year the stand had surrogates in all 50 states, along with France and Canada. The collective will have pushed fundraising to more than $1 million by the time you read this.

"We were always surprised," Liz Scott admitted last week.

And as the returns gained momentum, it became painfully evident to the Scotts that young Alex had made her last stand this year. At a recent public appearance during the Fourth of July, she was quite frail and consigned to a wheelchair, her long, painted fingernails a defiant testament to her resolve to enjoy life as best she could.

Hundreds came out to funeral services for Alex Scott at the Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr last week for a celebration of an unfinished life that reached into far corners of the country.

Alexandra Scott will live on as a cheerful, driven antidote for public cynicism, motivated by public service for service's sake. Her legacy exemplifies the power of the human spirit, which will carry on in the Philadelphia Foundation.

Remember that when a needy charity comes calling. Alex Scott could have been your child, our child.

We all should have been so blessed.