I am raising money for Children's Hospitals and Clinics because I want a chance to give back/pay it forward to an institution who gave so much to me and my family.  Through every generous donation Children's will be able to continue to support other families during pivotal moments in their lives in the same way they supported ours.  

Where to begin; Children's has been part of so many really sad and very happy moments in my life.

My first experience with Children's was nearly 17 years ago and represents deep sadness when my first daughter, Madison, was born and lost her life after 5 short days.  In those days, Children's helped me and my family celebrate birth, helped to facilitate baptism in the NICU, set expectations for the events that would unexpectedly unfold over 5 days, grieve and plan for a funeral, and so much more.  They shared their stories, stood by us, cried, and became an unexpected family with the experience needed to help survive it.  There was even connections to a grief group they hosted for 10 weeks, and the group ultimately chose to stay together for two years.

The next event represented much happiness as we celebrated the recovery of my second daughter, Sydney, from a ruptured appendix at age 3.  After 21-23 days (can't remember exactly) of hospitization, and many scary moments she was able to come home and ultimately become the happy, healthy 16 year old she is today.  During this event, Children's was the same amazing place as it was the first time.  They always sought to accommodate in every way.  During this stay, I slept with my daughter and was with her 24X7.  Children's never asked questions and they accommodated visits from her friends at daycare, and they tried in every way possible to make the experience as normal as possible while making sure all the experts took care of her (and there were many).

My other two experiences were also fabulous which included surgeries on both of my two living daughters (Sydney again, and third daughter Maggie) for tonsil and adenoid removals.  

The bottom line is that regardless of why you are there, and what services you require, Children's is always there to help support its patients (and families) to create the best experience possible which likely would not be possible without the donations from generous people like you.  

Thank you in advance for your consideration of donating to my charity fundraising campaign.