After almost 2 years off from running, I'm both excited and scared to be tackling the Berlin and Chicago Marathons this fall in honor of two amazing little girls: my daughter, Natalie, and her good friend Elodie. Both of their lives were saved by the doctors at Boston Children's Hospital and it's my goal this year to raise $5000 for the hospital to give back a tiny fraction of what they have given to us and Elodie's family.
For anyone new to our story, Natalie had a liver transplant at 10 days old and is the youngest surviving liver transplant recipient at Boston Children's Hospital. She is now 6 years old and thriving--she had a great year in kindergarten, and loves her dance classes, swimming lessons, and playing soccer. We have been so lucky that she has had such an amazing recovery and journey, and while she will be a lifelong patient at Boston Children's, every milestone she meets is a direct result of the donor who gave us her liver and the amazing doctors and staff at BCH.
Elodie will also be 6 this summer and is one amazing little human. She was born with a heart condition that can be repaired but never cured. Through testing at BCH, it was discovered she had other conditions requiring surgical repair to first save her life and then allow her to thrive and grow. She had four life-saving/quality of life surgeries before the age of one. She still is, and always will be a patient at BCH for her heart care.
Your donation will help Boston Children's continue their incredible patient care programs for sick and injured children and their families, as well as help fund research into discoveries that change children's lives, assist families who can't afford health care, and provide community outreach programs to help low-income and at-risk kids.
When Natalie was in the hospital, I vowed to do everything I could to give back to the hospital, and since 2016, with your help, I have raised over $40,000 for BCH. Let's keep the streak going! Support my run, and support the hospital! Any donation, great or small, is welcome.
