Why I'm Fundraising for Team NYP

I am running my second NYC Marathon for a cause near and dear to me and to my family. I am running for the Valerie Alice Cook Fund at New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH). The funds go to  pediatric liver transplant patients and to the families in need of financial assistance while caring for a child going through treatment and care for liver transplant.

For those of you who know me from the way back when, Valerie is my cousin who grew up down the street from me. Her house and family were an extension of my own home and family. Having the Cook family down the road was the best when we were growing up! When Val was 6 she got really sick, really fast. No one knew what was happening or why. She was flown to Chicago in a medically induced coma to undergo a lifesaving transplant. That one worked for a bit but when she was a sophomore in HS she needed a second one (lucky for her I was her HS tutor! I think she still looks back fondly on all the work I made her do). This time she received a live donor transplant from her mother at NYPH. Incredibly, Val celebrated her 30 year anniversary from the first liver transplant in 2022. She was one of the first patients to graduate from the pediatric liver team which is a testament to the care she received. 

While insurance covers the medical bills no one seems to realize the strain a long term recovery from a transplant can have on a family; from lost wages and time at work, parking at the hospitals in the city, laundry, hotel stays, food, and way back when before cell phones long distance phone calls! My aunt realized how stressful this can be for families of transplant patients and started the Valerie Alice Cook Fund. The fund offers financial assistance to patients undergoing pediatric liver transplant as a way to give back for all the care the doctors at NYPH have given not only to Val, but to all the other children being seen at NYPH. 

 All gifts, no matter how big or small, will make a tremendous difference. Your gift means so much to me and even more to so many others who depend on the doctors, nurses, and staff that form the NewYork-Presbyterian community.

Thank you for your support.