"Your baby may not make it." For anyone who has heard those words, I'm running for you. Let me be clear - I have not personally heard those terrifying, awful, crushing words. I have, however, been deeply affected by several families in my extended network who have heard those words or variations of the phrase as a result of E. coli and a related complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

The life-threatening complication took the life of a sweet baby girl known by my family. And it nearly took the life of her brother. In another case, two sweet babies known only via social media in my faith network got HUS and one nearly lost his fight. And another little boy continues to fight the health challenges caused by HUS. These children were not necessarily treated at Children's and I've never met them or their parents personally. But I know that Children's would treat our two healthy boys if anything serious happened to them. For that reason and more importantly, for all the beautiful children who seek care at Children's MN, I run for you.

Please consider donating via my pledge page to support Children's MN and those who have been impacted by HUS and E. coli. Thank you in advance for your generous donation.