Wm spent many years working in computer programming. In 2001 our lives changed when Carolina became diagnosed with a serious illness on the same day the company Wm worked for, closed the Chattanooga office. We considered relocating but this became no option as Carolina's treatment made her too ill. Wm worked on technical instructions manuals for a while, then went to work for his friend Bruce Smith who owns On Rope 1, a company that manufactures climbing equipment for caving, rescue and rock climbing. Wm prepared Bruce for his ISO 9001 certification and guided the company through the whole process.

In 2003 Carolina returned to work for Bruce. Wm had nursed her through her treatment including giving his own blood during a critical period. They worked side by side, she made stuff, he did the rest! In 2004, Wm and Carolina decided to go back to college, and attended evening classes at Chattanooga State College run by Bryan College in Dayton,TN. They graduated Summa Cum Laude and Magna Cum Laude, respectively, in Business Organizational Management.

Our lives also included our children, Wm has three who live in Texas - Brendon, Christopher and Angela. He also has one grandchild with another on the way. Carolina has two children. Marianne lived with us until she left to attend college (we hope). She lives in TN but is planning to join the others in Texas (What is it with Texas?). Kristian went to live with his father in England when Carolina was undergoing her treatment. He decided to stay there, and now is preparing to join the Royal Air Force.

Carolina is an artist. She started out in Fashion Design, trained to be a nanny, and travelled. She spent five years in Switzerland as a nanny, and an organic cleaner. Later she went back to college and became a special needs teacher. Wm and Carolina met through the caving organizations UIS and NSS. American delegates from the National Speleological Society had met Carolina and her work with art in speleology (promoting science through art) at the International Speleological Congress in Switzerland in 1997. Wm was running the NSS Convention in Sewanee, TN in 1998. Carolina was asked to help set up a fine arts exhibition there. It was very successful, and the Fine Arts Salon was founded for the NSS. Carolina returned to host another exhibition for the NSS in Idaho, the year after that it was West Virginia and Carolina had moved permanantly to the US to be with Wm. They married at Cumberland Caverns cave in December 2000. Hawaii's Big Island was the honeymoon and where 'The Dream' was conceived.