“The annual number of candles for baal teshuvahs could be in the thousands. “
Not if she missed because she didn’t know at that point, it would be considered annus, I believe, as iacisrmma pointed out, meaning it was not her fault that she missed all those weeks.
In any case, even if someone missed due to her own negligence, considering she would be obligated in 2 candlesx52 weeks/year, the annual number would only be 104, not in the thousands.